[PICS & VIDEO] Rest in peace: Hundreds attend Klawer boy’s funeral
|Published
LOSS: Jerobejin van Wyk, 13. Picture: Monique Duval
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Klawer on Saturday to say their final farewells to Jerobejin van Wyk, the boy who was butchered to death for stealing mangoes.
Tears flowed at the Klawer Community Hall as the heartbroken mother of the 13-year-old led the funeral procession and residents gathered to honour his memory.
Weeks after the child was mercilessly mowed down and mutilated by alleged child killer, Daniel Smit, residents were left wondering what was inside his tiny sealed white coffin.
Jerobejin’s disappearance on 2 February sparked an uproar when it was revealed that Smit had caught the child stealing mangoes and chased after him and drove over him.
He was allegedly seen picking the teen up and putting him in the bakkie and two days later, human remains were found in the drains at his home as cops and forensic experts searched for clues.
Smit appeared in the Klawer Magistrates’ Court days later where he abandoned his bail application and claimed he was not a racist, but had committed a “cult killing”.
He faces various charges including murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
The case was postponed to 26 April for further investigation.
Speaking a day before she laid her son to rest, mom Triesa, 38, said she had no heart left.
The mom said she had been hard at work that day but felt “something was wrong”.
“They asked me why I was so quiet and I told my work friends I am doing my work. I didn’t expect this when I arrived home from work on that Wednesday night.”
The mom said she is horrified by how her child was mutilated.
“My hart is stukkend and I want justice for my child. I don’t have a heart in my body. I don’t even have tears left to cry. I ask that boer baas he must just tell me how and why he did it. He already knocked my child over.
“He could have left my child there or he could have taken my child to the hospital or the police. I want to know why are you so horrible?”
Speaking at the funeral, community activist, Billy Claasen, described Jerobejin as a flower of Klawer who can no longer be watered.
He launched a scathing attack on police and questioned why the management of Klawer Police Station was not present at the funeral.
Claasen said questions linger over what happened to the rest of Jerobejin’s body, as only certain parts were recovered by police.
“One feels powerless. How many children must still die? Jerobejin has laid the ground for us to start questioning and speaking about these things. The tragic way in which he died shows us there is much more we must do,” he said.
“We must take the bull by the horns and speak honestly. What more could the police do? When last was the station commander at the station?”
He said the community planned to honour Jerobejin by developing programmes focused on creating opportunities for rural children, “to help them study and strive for a better life”.
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Caption: HEARTBREAK: Mom Triesa, 38
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