Leonie van der Westhuizen's husband, Gert, is desperate for justice after a stone hurled by robbers killed her in the head on 26 March.
The Centurion couple, who had been married for almost 50 years, were on their way to Cape Town International Airport when they were ambushed by a group of young men who shattered the car window with a stone. Gert could hold Leonie up with his left arm and drive away from the scene to a hospital, where he was taken to the Gugulethu Health Centre.
The attack occurred just more than 3km from the airport and mere blocks from the notorious crime stretch of road known as “Hell’s Run” on the N2 highway. Gert's only objective was to escape from the scene to a hospital, where he saw hospital signs and people telling him ‘follow us.’
Gert and Leonie Van der Westhuizen were driving to a health center when a stone attacked them. Leonie was resuscitated and taken to Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town, where she died two days later. Gert is a professor emeritus of education at the University of Johannesburg, and a police report was filed at the SAPS Cape Town Central Station on 28 March.
The Safe N2 Project aims to accumulate all instances of vastly underreported street crime in the Western Cape and warn project members of potential road threats. An area of particular interest is “Hell’s Run,” the stretch of N2 road and surrounding streets between Somerset West and Cape Town International Airport.
The Nyanga police station recorded an 18.5% increase in “serious crime reports” from October 2022 to December 2022, with 1,557 cases reported. The mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, has acknowledged that many road violence reports go unresolved. The death of Leonie, an accomplished academic and mother of four, has elicited messages of love worldwide.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed the incident at Sithandathu Street, Nyanga, where an unknown man allegedly threw an object (stone) through the car's window in which the 70-year-old victim was an occupant. An unknown suspect grabbed her cell phone and ran off.
The matter was reported to Cape Town Central police station on 29 March 2023, where it was transferred to Nyanga police for further investigation. A robbery case was opened for investigation. Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or the Nyanga police station.
SOURCE: The Daily Maverick
