On August 19 Elton Louw was kidnapped by five men, taken far and beaten. He died more than a week later in hospital.
Louw returned home from visiting his grandmother’s house at about 23:00, not knowing what lay in wait. Five men, three known as Shakes, Styles and Budax, waited for him in his home. They had gained entry to the house earlier that day.
“Shakes is a tenant, he rents the outside cottage from my mother and asked her for the house keys earlier that day saying that the electricity had been tripping, and that he wanted to set the mains back up,” said his sister.
Louw, later lying in hospital, told his sister what had happened.
“As soon as I got into bed, they came down from the ceiling and started beating me with ceiling banterings. They kicked and punched me, I was bleeding heavily,” he said to his sister.
The five men took Louw to Shakes’ car, a silver Volkswagen Golf, and drove with him to Old Coronation where they stripped him of his clothing and continued the merciless beating.
“A neighbour in the area told us that at about 03:00 they could hear screams. Residents started coming out of their homes to see what had happened but could not see a thing in the dark,” continued Louw’s sister.
Louw was then taken to KwaGuqa, the five men made a fire in a braai stand, they began heating irons in the coals.
“They threw him with ice cold water, then started branding him with the irons and beating him with spades. No one should go through that kind of punishment,” continued the now sobbing sister.
Louw told his sister that he could see the sun rising in the distance as they continued to mutilate his body. They had apparently beaten him in the garage belonging to Shakes’ mother.
“He couldn’t cry or scream anymore, he just lay still so that they would leave him but they didn’t. They continued until late that afternoon and loaded him back in Shakes’ car and drove him home where they had hoped to dump him,” said the sister.
“My mother and aunt, by God’s mercy decided to go home and check on Elton. They realised something was wrong when they saw the state the house was in,” she added.
On their way out Louw’s mother and aunt asked the neighbour if she had seen Elton. The neighbour told them that she had heard screams the previous night and had seen a car parked in the yard.
“My mother and aunt went back in the house, at that time Shakes’ car pulled up in the yard. Only Shakes got out and walked to the cottage at the back. My mother asked him if he saw Elton, to which Shakes replied that they had not seen him. In the meantime my aunt walked towards the car and the other three were still seated on top of something green. That’s when she noticed Elton’s hand sticking out from the green blanket,” continued Leigh-Yuni Louw.
Louw’s aunt started screaming and a neighbour and his mother came running.
The five men allegedly made the excuse that they found Louw in Old Coronation and picked him up there.
“My mother knew something was amiss, because they had lied and the fact that they didn’t want to take him to hospital,” continued the sister.
Louw was taken to Witbank Hospital at about 06:30 where he remained bedridden for seven days. Doctors suspected he suffered from internal bleeding, among his other injuries, including a number of broken and fractured bones.
After three days in hospital, Louw managed to tell his side of the story to his sisters. By August 28 he was dead.
“Elton was the only son. My only brother. There is not a place on his body that they did not burn or beat. I recall him saying this pain is so much I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” said Louw’s sister.
A case of kidnapping and murder was opened at Vosman Police Station and the five suspects were arrested. They first appeared in Witbank Magistrate’s Court on September 5. The case was postponed until September 8 and postponed once more to September 12 for bail application. The five suspects remain in custody.
“When they walked into court they showed no remorse. Seeing us they still had that smirk on their faces, pushing their chests out as if to say ‘we are proud and almost certain that we will get away with murder’,” ended Louw’s sister.
Louw’s body was laid to rest at Pretoria Memorial Cemetery on September 6.
What a way to die… .I can never know the pain the family is going through.I do not know him,I do not know the family but that could have been my uncle,my father,my brother,my friend.He could have been a hero,an enemy,a neighbore… No ,he was a son,a brother, a friend, a marter,a ‘witbanker’,my neighbore.He lives in the hearts of his loved ones.He lives in the memory of those who seek rightiousness.He lives as a symbole of the innocent ,he lives as a life ended,a life loved.He lives… .
What a way too die:(it still feels so unreal..the people that did this too Elton must pay..no mercy for them..wht kind or a human being does this..all the pian he went true and still he was a strong man,God was with him true it all,till the end..he will be missed.Gone too soon.Rest in peace Elton Louw
It’s really sad and heartbreaking that he died like that because he really didn’t deserve to die like that and those pigs that did it to him must rot in jail they must suffer and go through hell in there,they must get life in jail and it really hurts to know Elton went through so much pain and suffering,I really wish it never happened,he will be missed and may his beautiful soul rest in peace.
You know when I stood at his bedside , I thought to myself that although in so much pain he still managed to thank each and everyone of us for coming to visit him.I was the last one to see him alive and talking. “I am defiantely going to pray tonight and thank you for everything my sister” the last words he will ever speak was to me. With much pain he closed his eyes to never open them again… The pain is so intense that it pulls at my heartstrings, just the thought of being tortured all alone for so many hours. No judge should even consider giving these murderers a chance to justify their heartless actions. Imagine the smell of smelling and feeling your own flesh burn ? Naked stripped of your dignity. Who has life in his hands is not God alone. This was an untimely death because God is the giver of life not the other way around. Justice must prevail for our streets to be safe! Nobody who takes the life of another should be given a chance to live theirs freely with blood on their hands and pride written all over their faces…
After the brutal and tragic death of Elton,the judge releases them on R2000 bail how does one justify this? How do u trust our law and justice system, are we living in a time where murderers are seen as hero’s as they get away with murder.i am asking myself this how would that judge have felt if it was his son whom they had killed if it was his flesh and blood that they stripped of dignity would he still have allowed them to be released on bail? To the Loud family God is alive he will answer and when he does no human judge can bail u out
To the family of Elton Louw, I want to agree with all the other commenters. How can a Judge release murders suspects on R2000 bail, although there are no eye witnesses who saw what had happened the victim’s final words on his death bed are still accepted in any court of law or did our justice system change insomuch that those words are not accepted as enough evidence to lock them up? In my days in the police those words has been accepted as the best evidence and the whole truth. Why will you lie on your death bed when you know that that words will be your last words?
Our wonderful justice system at work…These new world order aligned lawyers, magistrates & judges are the cause of all the chaos we see around us! Our justice system is totally broken!