Mbombela - Security at the R1.4 billion Mbombela stadium in Mpumalanga is to be given a shake up after a 21-year-old Orlando Pirates fan was killed there at the weekend.
Zithulele Lubisi was stabbed to death in a bus during the Premier Soccer League clash between league champions Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits on Saturday night.
Mbombela stadium spokesperson, Ronny Moyo, said on Tuesday they were awaiting reports from the police and the bus company Buscor before coming up with concrete plans to improve security.
"We had no such incidents during the 2010 World Cup and therefore never thought of having security on the buses because we believed discipline amongst people was important, as it worked before," he said.
Provincial police spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Hlathi, said the incident happened after an unknown man in his early 20s boarded a bus that was waiting to ferry soccer fans to the park-and-ride facilities outside the stadium.
"The assailant asked the driver where the bus was going. The driver said the bus was going nowhere because the match was still on. The few people who were in the bus laughed at him and he lost it. He quickly drew a knife and stabbed Lubisi in the chest before running away," said Hlathi.
Hlathi said Lubisi was declared dead when paramedics were called to the scene.
He said police had opened a murder docket and were investigating the fatal attack.
"We have launched a manhunt for the assailant and we are asking the public to help with any information that can lead to his arrest," said Hlathi.
Anyone with information relevant to the case can contact Nelspruit police on (013) 759-1196.
