‘My son was such a lovely boy’ – mom of boy allegedly killed for picking mangoes

He was described as a respectful boy who loved soccer and did whatever task his parents sprung on him, but 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk’s life came to an end when he was hacked and killed with his body parts dumped in a drain in a small town in the Western Cape last week – all over stolen mangoes.

It was on Wednesday when Van Wyk was playing with friends in the small rural community of Klawer, known for wine farms, mining and poverty.

The group of boys, however, ended on the property of Daniel Smit, 56, to pick mangoes off his tree. What was meant to be an enjoyable snack ended up being a terrifying chase, after Smit pursued the boys in his car.

Smit allegedly hit Van Wyk with his car and took the young boy back to his own property, said deputy leader of the Patriotic Alliance in the Western Cape, Sammy Claassen.

Van Wyk’s mother, Triesa van Wyk, was at work at the time. Briefly speaking to The Citizen on Monday, she said upon her return she heard there was “trouble with the boer”. Smit was, however, not a farmer but a train driver.

“We went to confront him about this trouble and [Smit] offered us something to eat and a cool drink. But my son didn’t show up that night.”

What she didn’t know at the time was that her son was dead. On Thursday afternoon, she said she grew more concerned as her son still was not home.

When Van Wyk’s friends explained to his family and the community what happened, angry residents put pressure on the police, who then obtained a search warrant. On Friday, Smit’s home was cordoned off for forensic investigators to search his property. The search turned into a gruesome discovery as parts of Van Wyk’s body were found hidden in Smit’s drain.

Van Wyk’s mother was, however, not told at the time that it was her son’s body parts found in the drain. According to Patriotic Alliance president Gayton McKenzie, Van Wyk’s ear, kidney and intestines were found in the drain.

As heinous as the crime was, Triesa said she finally found closure after discovering what had happened to her son. DNA samples were taken to confirm if the remains found in the drain were indeed that of her young son and Smit was arrested.

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“My son was such a lovely boy. Whenever you’d ask him to do something, he would do it. When you ask him to do work for you, he would do it. He loved soccer – it was his hobby. He has a 15-year-old sister and she is angry about what happened, but what can we do? I have to make peace with it,” his mother said.

The Klawer Magistrate’s Court on Monday was filled with angry residents who were opposing Smit’s bail. Smit is facing charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.

“The case has been postponed until 26 April 2022 for further investigation. The defence has indicated that the accused does not intend to apply for bail, however, the state will oppose the bail application in case the accused changes his mind,” said Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.

But the community demanded for police to conduct more investigations at Smit’s house as two people have disappeared from the area in the past two years with no bodies found. This included an 11-year-old girl and a 30-year-old woman.

“The police have just briefed the community that the special investigation team has found new pieces of evidence at the premises of the suspect. The premises is a crime site and remains cordoned off by the police. They pleaded with the community not to approach the house as it is a crime site with so much evidence. A number of children went missing in the area over the last couple of years,” said Claassen.

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– rorisangk@citizen.co.za