Claims that a man found dead on a Sea Point beach was shot have been dismissed by local officials.
The body of the unidentified man was found along Broken Bath Beach on Sunday morning, where he was declared deceased on the scene. Western Cape SAPS confirmed that an inquest docket was opened for further investigation.
The City’s ward 54 councillor, Nicola Jowell, said that as news of the incident spread, so did “fake and false news” on what may have happened.
She said several rumours circulated, such as that his body was dumped there or that he was shot. She advised that none of the rumours were true, as he is suspected of having drowned. She also stressed that if the deceased had been shot, a murder case would have been registered with the police instead of an inquest.
“None of this was correct. There was no visible signs of any trauma to the man, no gunshots, no blood,” said Jowell.
Jowell further criticised online platforms, which she said published information that the deceased had been shot, as though based on fact. She added that other media outlets also shared this information, assuming it to be fact.
“When I asked the one who their source was to say the person had been shot, they just said it was taken from another of the online publications. So it just shows how quickly false news can spread and suddenly become fact.”
She cautioned residents against sharing unverified information, adding that this incident has been a “very sad and very damaging” turn of events for the Sea Point community and the City of Cape Town.
“The more sensationalist, the more they get shared around and this false information becomes fact that doesn’t get retracted in the end. The man is very sadly deceased, believed to have drowned and condolences to his family and his friends,” said Jowell.
The incident comes about a week after the death of another man in Sea Point, who had sustained a gunshot wound. His death is suspected to have been a suicide.
READ MORE: Man found dead on Sea Point promenade; suspected suicide
