In a cryptic New Year’s Eve message, the mother of slain Pretoria teaching assistant, Chanelle Henning, has vowed to reveal all about her daughter’s death.
Henning’s mother, Sharon Saincic, vowed this yesterday as her family prepared for a sombre New Year’s Eve.
With the mastermind of the killing still free, Saincic has said that once the real the person behind her daughter’s murder is brought to book and made to pay for his “heinous” crime she will speak out.
“It is too sensitive to talk about now. We will call a press conference when the time is right and reveal what really happened to bring the life of our beautiful daughter to such a tragic end. Even if it is two years from now we will make sure the truth gets out,” said Saincic.
Her message comes a week after they spent a “beautiful” Christmas Day with their daughter’s five-year-old son Benjamin.
Benjamin, who is in foster care, witnessed his mother’s murder moments after she had dropped him off at his crèche in Faerie Glen last month.
Henning was murdered by disgraced policeman, Gerhardus du Plessis, and Willem Pieterse, who as part of a plea bargain pleaded guilty to the killing earlier this month in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
They were both jailed for 18 years for the hit which was carried out when Du Plessis shot Henning twice in the chest.
They both alleged that they were given instructions to murder Chanelle, who was estranged from her son’s multimillionaire businessman father, Nico Henning, by former Nigerian Olympian Ambrose Monye.
In a statement read out in court, the two men said Monye allegedly told Pieterse he had a “job” for him and had someone who wanted a “person to be taken out”.
Monye allegedly introduced Pieterse and Du Plessis to André Gouws – a former Sunnyside police officer and apparently a friend of Henning’s estranged husband.
Although pleading guilty to the killing neither the reason for it, nor the identity of the mastermind have been revealed.
Monye and Gouws are due to appear in court on January 17 to apply for bail.
Despite the mastermind behind her daughter’s murder still being free, Henning’s family are confident that the person will eventually be arrested.
Asked if they had an idea of who could be behind the hit, Saincic said: “We know what we know, but there is no proof so we cannot say anything about who might have done what. We will speak out but at this stage we do not want to jeopardise the case. The police are doing excellent work and we are afraid that if we talk now this will all be undone.”
Asked how the family’s Christmas had been and their hopes for the New Year, Saincic said it had been a sad one.
“We miss our beautiful daughter terribly and have a great emptiness in our hearts. It is very hard for us, but we are at peace knowing our daughter is now with God.
“Our hopes, dreams and prayers for the new year lie with God and we know that at His time the person behind this will be caught and will pay for what he has done,” she said. - Graeme Hosken