‘No chance to fight’
The family of Martha Selomo (67) is struggling to come to terms after she had been bludgeoned to death in her Westenburg home in December, by a 19-year-old man who is freely roaming the streets after he was granted bail of R500.
Selomo had no fighting chance during the ordeal on 30 December when she was attacked, allegedly by her neighbour’s son.
With the suspect expecting to return to court later this month, the family reflects on the events of the day.
Selomo’s nephew, Daniel Selomo told Polokwane Observer that, on the day his aunt died, the suspect first vandalised his brother’s house before moving to another neighbour’s yard where he broke a car window.
“He then proceeded to my aunt’s yard, jumped over the fence and attacked her.” Nothing could have prepared Daniel for the gruesome scene he found at his aunt’s house.
“The suspect used a brick, a garden chair and car shock absorber to attack her. She was clinging to life when she was rushed to hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. The burglar door was locked and it seems as if she struggled to open it in the tussle. There was a bloodied handprint next to the door but she did not stand a fighting chance,” he added.
The suspect was apprehended by residents before he could flee the scene. The brutal attack has left the family reeling as to this day, they do not know what provoked the attack.
“We have also not received a formal visit from the elders in his family to apologise for their son’s actions, as African tradition allows,” he said. What has further hurt the Selomo family is that the victim had cared for the suspect, who has lost his mother. “My aunt was a very kind woman; even taking care of the boy. She used to make sure that he had food to eat.
She was that motherly influence everywhere she went,” he said. Daniel added that the trauma is hard on his family. “My grandmother is not coping. We would not be surprised if she one day went to sleep and never woke up because she is extremely heartbroken. Even mentioning my aunt’s name triggers her,” he said. Daniel is also feeling the effects of the ordeal.
“I had to be strong for my family. I was there at the scene, I went for the post mortem and had to be busy with funeral preparations. I thought I was coping but last month reality started sinking in. I now have sleepless nights; everything just keeps coming back and I find myself in tears.”
The Westenburg Police Station Commander, Lt Col Maimele Pilusa, confirmed that a case of murder in which a brick was used as a weapon, is being investigated. The suspect will re-appear in court on 25 June.
