‘It’s not easy to bury your son’- Lenasia family demands justice for murdered son

A distraught Lenasia family is calling for justice, after their son Muhammad Yusuf Ismail was murdered a year ago.

Ismail, who was in his late thirties, was shot in an alleged family dispute at Heliodor Crescent, Lenasia Extension 13 in October last year.

Lenasia police spokesperson Sergeant Bafana Ndimande at the time said officers were informed that Ismail’s body was taken to Lenasia Extension 13 Clinic, but it was unclear who transported it there.

Police arrested 29-year-old Reeza Dinath in connection with the murder, but the case against him has been marred by a number of postponements.

Delays

Dinath appeared in the Lenasia Magistrates Court on Thursday and the case was postponed yet again to 22 January 2024 because there were missing documents in the case docket.

He is currently out on R8 000 bail.

The delay in getting the case to trial has aggrieved the Ismail family who said their hearts will not be at peace until they see their son’s murderer behind bars.

ALSO READ: Lenasia man arrested for murder after ‘family dispute’

Broken family

Speaking to The Citizen, Ismail’s father Mohammad Farouk said the family wants to know what actually happened when his son was murdered.

He said they are broken.

“It’s not easy to bury your son. If they (accused family) only speak the truth, tell us what happened, we could have accommodated them, but they are not coming forward.”

Ismail’s mother was extremely emotional, saying they have lost a son they miss very much.

Trial

When asked when the case would be going to trial, Dinath’s lawyer Ronald Lingwood, told The Citizen that they are waiting for the state to provide a complete docket before proceeding.

“I haven’t made s decision yet if I am going to trial or if I am going to be doing something else such as representations with what I have in front of me. I haven’t made a decision because I have not received a full disclosure from the state.

“I am just hoping the state can get their house in order,” said Lingwood.

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