Willem Kruger’s father reveals last conversation with his son

The father of 29-year-old Limpopo farmer, Willem Kruger, opened up about the last time he spoke to his son.

Tian Kruger, who specialises in a variety of farming including cotton, citrus, maize, tobacco and cattle, revealed in an interview with Netwerk 24, that his son wasn’t keen on attending the fateful bachelors party.

Willem disappeared in November last year, near the Henbase Lodge in Morgenzon, Mpumalanga, after attending his college friend, Ghini Greyling’s stag party.

He was also supposed to be a groomsman at Greyling’s wedding scheduled to take place the following month.

Nine days after the young farmer went missing, divers found his body in a white Toyota Hilux Dakar, in the Vaal River on 22 November.

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Willem didn’t know Ghini too well

According to Kruger, one of the last things Willem confided in him before leaving, was that he couldn’t understand why Ghini asked him to be a groomsman.

Kruger told the publication that, “Willem had other friends who were like brothers to him, but Ghini was not that close to him”.

Willem had also told his father that he knew almost no one at the bachelors, but that he would be picking up a school friend, named Callie Reynecke, who was a mutual friend of Ghini’s.

“I told him, Ghini thinks alot of you. You said you would go and you can’t drop him,” said Kruger.

Then, Kruger bade his son goodbye, not knowing it would be the last conversation with Willem.

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Reynecke breaks the news to the Kruger family

Willem and Reynecke travelled to Henbase Lodge, situated about about 200km from the Kruger farm.

Kruger says the next thing they heard was from Reynecke who informed the family on Sunday, that William was missing.

Kruger and his wife, Stephanie, were watching TV, when Willem’s sister, Danelle, ran in with the news.

“I asked the guys to put me on the bachelor’s WhatsApp group. You know only a handful, probably five guys on that group have said sorry about William, Uncle, I didn’t even get a sympathy call from Ghini’s father.

Kruger says he knew Ghini’s father through mutual farming circles.

“I started calling people on Sunday and sent people to search in the meantime, but they couldn’t get across.”

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He said the family stayed in the area the entire time of the search. But they were advised to leave the scene once the bakkie had been located.

Willem, did not live long enough to celebrate his crown birthday, which was supposed to be on 30 June this year. Despite studying accounting in University of Pretoria, where he met Ghini, Willem was keen to take over his father’s business.

Kruger was going to hand over the reins in April.

The Kruger family has since enlisted the help of Afriforum‘s private prosecution unit to solve the son’s death.

Translated from Afrikaans and compiled by Narissa Subramoney.

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