As the drug gang wars continue to rage from Hanover Park to Beacon Valley, Delft to Lavender Hill, and many places in between, innocent residents are left to mourn their loved ones who have been claimed in the carnage.
One mother who knows all too well the trauma of losing a child in a shooting is Joan van Niekerk, from Rocklands, whose 17-year-old son Manuel Hamilton was killed in crossfire inside the shop opposite Caradale Primary School in February last year.
As the chairperson of the Typhoon Block Committee and owner of a security company, Ms Niekerk was trained to help others with crime.
Only this time, it happened to her. One person has been arrested for the shooting where several other people were also injured.
“As a crime fighter I was shocked that this had happened to me and my family. The case keeps getting postponed and I don’t think it’s fair towards me, a year and seven months later. I didn’t know what to do. Justice is taking its time with everything. As parents, we need closure,” said Ms Van Niekerk.
Manuel attended the School of Hope in Observatory.
Ms Van Niekerk, 45, said Manuel was an inspirational person who encouraged those around him.
He was also a motivational speaker to the pupils at Seaview Primary School in Rocklands. “Manuel loved sport, especially playing soccer,” she said.
He loved his sister, Ilana Hamilton, 19, dearly, said Ms Van Niekerk.
Manuel inspired Ilana to finish her matric year in 2017, which she dedicated to her brother.
“No mother deserves to lose a child. God has something planned for our lives. It is going to take time to heal from such an ordeal. Be strong, have faith, keep your children safe at all times and protect them as far and as much as you can,” she said.
Since her son died, Ms Van Niekerk has kept herself busy in the community.
She cannot stand being close to the place of her son’s death which is two roads from where she lives.
She said she appreciates the police supporting her through a lengthy court process.
“If more officers adopted an attitude like theirs it would put the victim at ease of stress and reliving the trauma again,” said Ms Van Niekerk.
She said the army should come in and protect the children who cannot play in the park or walk in the streets anymore.
“If safety structures can work together, Mitchell’s Plain would be a better place,” she said.
Captain Ian Williams, spokesperson of Mitchell’s Plain SAPS, said the case has been postponed to tomorrow Thursday October 25 at the regional court in Mitchell’s Plain. “The motive for the shooting might have been gang-related. The investigation continues,” he said.