A father of three was killed by gunmen who robbed him of his cellphone and bag while on his way to work on Sunday morning.
Igshaan Hendricks, 42, was walking metres from his home in Kasouga Road, Manenberg, to fetch the family car from his mother at around 5.30am when shots rang out.
His murder happened as his wife Carmen was praying for his safety.
Carmen, 41, who had been married to Igshaan for 17 years, tells the Daily Voice that Igshaan, who worked seven shifts a week, left in good spirits as he’d always done every morning.
“There was nothing odd. He still turned around and told our son that he loves him and then he left,” said Carmen, sitting in jeans covered with her husband’s blood.
“Just like every morning, he would fetch the car at his mother where he parks it, but this time he didn’t even reach his mother’s house.”
She says just as she was about to finish her morning prayers, she heard around six gunshots.
“I wanted to go outside but my son told me not to, and then we heard them shout, ‘It’s Shaan they shot!’
“He didn’t have his cellphone on him nor his bag. They must have shot him for those things because he is not a gangster, he was a hardworking man who lived for his family,” she said.
The hartseer Carmen says she had the hard task of telling their youngest daughter about her father’s horrific passing.
“I told her her daddy went to heaven before us and we will meet him there one day,” she explained while sobbing.
“He was a good man, someone who was just in the house; the only time he left was to go to work for us and now he’s gone. Why would they do something like this?
“Why not just take his stuff? Now our children have to grow up without a father.”
After taking a deep breath, Carmen added: “I wish I could just hear his voice one last time and remind him of how much I love him.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg has confirmed that Manenberg police have registered a murder case for investigation following the shooting.
“According to reports, the victim was on his way to work when he was accosted by unknown suspects who robbed and shot him,” Twigg said.
“The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The suspects fled the scene with the victim’s personal belongings.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111.