Railo family left without hope or a home, DA steps in to help
Jan Railo was shot and killed by a hunter who claimed to have mistaken him for a warthog on 11 February.
LIMPOPO – DA Constituency Head in Modimolle, Desiree van der Walt, says the family of a farm worker who lost his life after he was shot and killed by a farmer who claimed to have mistaken him for a warthog, was left without a house.
Jan Railo was shot in the back and died at Meisiesvlei farm near Tuinplaas.
Van der Walt said she visited the Railo family on Monday, where it was established that the deceased’s children, a four-month-old baby and four-year-old boy, don’t have birth certificates.
The children’s mother doesn’t not have a house either.
“The son cannot attend the local crèche and the widow is now staying with her mother. I have arranged for birth certificates and I will personally pay for the boy to attend a crèche.”
She said a long term plan needed to be put in place for the children to attend school.
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“The Railo family used to rely on the deceased for their survival, and now there’s just nothing.
“The Railo family has been robbed of a breadwinner. The economic circumstances of his family, dire as they were before he died, will only get worse.”
Van der Walt said, in solidarity with the Railo family, she attended the bail hearing at the Modimolle Magistrate’s Court where the accused was granted bail of R15 000 on Friday.
“As the Modimolle community continues to mourn Railo, it is important that his family be provided with the full details of what happened and the circumstances that lead to his death. This death is a sad reminder of the perilous state of rural safety for the majority of rural residents in South Africa.
Read more: Modimolle ‘warthog hunter’ out on bail
“People now live in constant fear of an existential threat of violence due to government’s inability to guarantee their safety,” she said.
“While the DA acknowledges the anger that this matter has brought to the Modimolle community, we encourage everyone to exercise restraint and allow the judicial process to bring this matter to a conclusive end,” said Van der Walt.
Spokesperson for the Limpopo Police, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, said the Modimolle Magistrate’s Court granted bail of R15 000.
The accused was ordered to hand in his passport and to report to his nearest police station every Monday and Friday.
