‘I must not be the first one to catch them’: Malema vows to find suspects behind Hillary Gardee’s death

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has vowed to find the suspects behind the murder of Hillary Gardee.

Hillary’s body was found in an area just outside Mbombela, previously known as Nelspruit, in Mpumalanga four days after she was reported missing.

The 28-year-old, who was the daughter of former EFF secretary-general and attorney, Godrich Gardee, was last seen on Friday at Spar Supermarket in Mbombela.

Malema visited the Gardee family home on Wednesday to pay his condolences.

Speaking to the media, he said the EFF will not rest until the suspects were apprehended.

 “We have deployed all manner of resources on the ground to look for these criminals. The report we have is that we can rest assured that it is not a mission that comes from outside.

ALSO READ: Body of Godrich Gardee’s daughter found outside Mbombela, EFF confirms

“It is a mission that comes internally. Therefore, we have no reason to be looking over the borders as to who could have done this,” Malema said.

“The assurance we have got from the intelligence we deployed on the ground is that it is internal work and we are becoming closer to the situation.

“We want to teach them a lesson that they will never forget for the rest of their lives because they took the wrong one this time around. Anyone who touches our children touches us. They don’t want to see the ugly side of the EFF,” he added.

The EFF leader also dismissed the suggestion that Hillary’s death may have been politically motivated.

“Well there is nothing that suggests there were politics involved…. It’s [just] pure criminality. We have not yet established the motive. The motive will confidently be establish once we have found the perpetrators,” he said.

Malema went on to call on the police to find the culprits before the EFF does, because it is not guaranteed what will happen.

“I must not be the first one to catch them… whatever that means it means exactly that,” he said.

READ MORE: Police activate 72-hour plan to find Hillary Gardee’s killers

Police Minister, Bheki Cele, along with national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, also visited Gardee’s home as well as where Hillary’s body was found on Tuesday.

Cele revealed that the South African Police Service (Saps) have set up a 72-hour activation plan to find the suspects.

“We have a criminal out there who murdered a young human being, it does look like in a brutal way. So let us get that person… it will help us [to know] if there are politics in it, economics in it if it’s just hate, passions, whatever kind, but we definitely not looking for any motive for now,” he told the media.