“Cape Town Stays Unpredictable”: Sleeping Homeless Man Mistaken for Dead, Prompting Police Call
- A police response was triggered in Cape Town after a homeless man was allegedly presumed dead while he was sleeping
- The incident went viral on X, sparking a massive debate about the fears of living in certain areas in Mzansi
- Social media users were in stitches over the confusion, with others raising concerns regarding the police’s failure to check for a pulse
Source: Twitter
In a bizarre turn of events that has captured the attention of many, a man believed to be a deceased individual on a busy road was revealed to be taking a nap.
The incident, which took place on Spine Road, was shared on X by @LudidiVelani on 16 April 2026, where it gained massive traction online.
According to the post, police were called to the scene after a body covered in plastic was discovered lying on the side of the road. In anticipation of a crime scene investigation, officers allegedly closed off the road and contacted forensic experts to collect the remains.
The man assumed dead rises
The sombre atmosphere, however, quickly turned into a scene of disbelief. After a period of time, the man woke and sat up, much to the shock of everyone. It turned out that the assumed deceased featured in X user @LudidVelani was a homeless man who had fallen into a deep sleep.
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See the X post below:
SA debates the homeless man's scene
The post gained traction, with over 100 social media users flooding the comments section expressing their thoughts on the incidents. Many viewers found the incident amusing while wondering what the man said when he woke up to the commotion. Some said the man was lucky not to wake up at the mortuary, saying his experience was very funny. Other users were happy that the whole thing turned out to be a good story and expressed their relief that the man was alive. One viewer noted that the scene represented a fear of living in South Africa, saying that when people see a body sleeping like that, they immediately think the person is dead.
Source: UGC
User @NdinguSibabalwe
"Umntu uyoze avuke e-mortuary (one day, we'll wake up in mortuaries)."
User @pumezamahobe
"For once, it turned out to be a good story. Police are lazy kodwa. Don't they report to the scene with medical personnel?"
User @srakwena
"That reminds me, one day I was walking on the main road in Somerset West and passed this homeless person, and it was hot, and I was convinced that he was dead, as he was sleeping. I even thought of informing the police, and when I came back, I realised that he had turned."
User @ta_marah7
"But lowkey, it also shows how quickly people panic, and how rough things are that someone sleeping outside gets mistaken for a crime scene. Cape Town stays unpredictable, hey."
User @uVuyo5_
"That's great, he didn't wake up at a mortuary, it's a very funny story, though."
User @TumiK46521661 said:
"Only in RSA!"
User @@MaphefoMGD
"He must not miss his chance to be a pastor, tell people God brought him back with a message."
3 Briefly News death-related articles
- Tanzanian authorities revealed that they have detained Ashly Robinson's fiancé, Joe McCann, and have seized his passport while investigating her mysterious death.
- An American influencer was found dead in a luxury resort in Zanzibar while on holiday with her partner, two days after he proposed.
- Ashly Robinson's mother shared that her daughter called her to tell her that she and her fiancé Joe had an argument that led to the Zanzibar resort's staff placing them in separate rooms, the day before she mysteriously died.
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Source: Briefly News
