Death probe plea to flock

Bmbongeni Ndlovu

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CHURCHGOERS have been asked to come forward to help in the investigation into the death of a 28-year-old man.

Officers have appealed for parishioners who witnessed a fight before attending Mass at St Mary’s RC Church, Ruth Street, Oldham on Sunday morning to contact them.

Police were called to neighbouring Shaw Street, Oldham Edge, at 11.30am where they discovered Mbongeni Ndhlovu (28), originally from Zimbabwe, with a head injury.

Parish priest Phil Sumner said that some of his parishioners told him that they had seen the man being attacked.

He added: “I arrived as the man was lying on the ground.

“A number of parishioners tried to calm the situation down while some told me they were going to call the police.”

Mr Ndhlovu was taken to hospital for treatment and later discharged himself, but refused to cooperate with police or disclose what had happened.

A number of other men who were at the incident were abusive to police and refused to disclose what went on.

House-to-house inquiries were carried out but no witnesses provided any account of what happened.

On Tuesday, police were called to a flat shortly after 4.10pm on Shaw Street by North West Ambulance Service who were treating Mr Ndhlovu. He was taken to Hope Hospital for treatment to a head injury but died a short time later.

It is not clear what day he suffered the injury that killed him or if he was attacked again.

A Home Office post mortem examination to establish the exact cause of his death has not yet taken place.

Father Sumner said: “There have been several incidents on that corner and around Horsedge Street that are not very nice for local residents.

“It is always a concern when a violent incident becomes something more serious but that was a complete one off.

“I’ve never experienced a sense of insecurity for myself or people coming to church on a Sunday.”

Det Chief Insp Denise Worth, from the Major Incident Team, said: “We are looking at whether Mbongeni’s death is linked to the incident on Sunday morning and we now know there were a number of people at the near-by St Mary’s Church on Ruth Street.

“I am very keen to speak to anyone who was at that service and who perhaps might have witnessed a disturbance sometime on Sunday morning.

“I know local residents will be concerned but I want to reassure them we do not believe there is any threat to anyone else and I have a team of extremely experienced detectives working to establish the full circumstances surrounding Mbongeni’s death.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161-856 9283, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.