Reading about the arrest of a man in connection with the murder of a Waterfall man has reopened a wound for a Durban family.
|||Durban - Reading in the Daily News about the arrest of a man in connection with the murder of a Waterfall father of two has reopened a wound for a Durban family.
On Thursday, Rod Bosch realised with disbelief that the suspect was the same man who had been acquitted 11 years ago of murdering his brother Greg, after a confrontation in Krantzkloof Nature Reserve after a burglary incident.
The man, believed to be the alleged shooter in the killing of Jacques Oosthuizen last month, had been on early parole on a separate armed robbery matter.
To date police have arrested three people - all parolees who had been previously convicted for serious crimes - for Oosthuizen’s murder. A fourth person is still on the run.
Bosch said on Tuesday he felt a cold shiver when he read in the Daily News that the convicted armed robber had been arrested in KwaMashu.
“It just opened old wounds. I felt hurt and angry,” he said. “My brother had died a senseless, brutal death. We are still searching for answers.”
He said the suspect was first arrested in 2002 for Greg’s murder after bragging in a taxi that he had killed a white man.
The man was acquitted of murder in the Durban High Court after pleading self defence, but convicted and sentenced to three years for possession of a stolen firearm, Bosch said.
“However, a day later, he was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in another armed robbery matter,” Bosch said.
The prisoner had been released on parole early this year after serving 10 years of his sentence.
This week, Greg’s wife Jenny and her brother-in-law Rod opened their hearts to Oosthuizen’s wife Samantha and their children, Claudia, 15, and Storm, 10.
“I pray the Oosthuizen family get the closure they are still waiting for... I know the exact pain they are feeling,” Jenny said. “I don’t wish that on anyone.”
She said while she had not spoken openly about her husband’s death, she looked forward to speaking to Samantha.
“I hope that I could offer her some comfort. I know it’s not a nice place where she’s at right now. Rod and I are there for them. We will help them in any way we can.”
Oosthuizen, 35, suffered a massive heart attack and died three days after he was stabbed and shot during a robbery at his Braeside Road home last month. His family are still battling to come to terms with his death.
Jenny said she had spent the past 11 years trying to take control of her life and move on, even though she still had no closure.
“This has stirred emotions in me that I thought were long gone. I am angry that another family is suffering... that another home has been destroyed”, she said.
“At the time we were shattered by the court’s finding. But, we moved on day by day. To think another family is suffering the same pain... is heartbreaking.”
Jenny said Greg’s father, Chris (Dodo), who died at the age of 95 in March, and his mother Beryl, 89, who died two years ago, never recovered from the loss of their son.
“Our children were teenagers when he died. They too have suffered. It was a really dark time in our lives.”
The suspect, who was arrested last week, appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Friday on a charge of murder. The matter was adjourned to next month for a bail application.
The other suspect was arrested in Molweni while a third handed himself over to police.
Their arrests came after weeks of investigation by police and private security company Enforce.
Enforce head investigator, Nico Potgieter, said they had received information about the suspects’ whereabouts and worked with police to make the arrests.
He said a profile on the main suspect had revealed he had two armed robbery convictions and had been released on parole after 10 years in prison.
Potgieter said the suspects had been identified as one of the gangs operating in the Outer West area. The arrest of the fourth suspect, he added, was imminent.
The regional commissioner of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Correctional Services, Mnikelwa Nxele, said any parolee who broke the law would be brought to book.
“This is viewed in a very serious light. It will be fully investigated.”
Daily News