Durban - More than 18 months after her brother was murdered during a Pinetown robbery gone wrong, Thaslem Iqbal is still battling to find closure despite the recent arrest and court appearance of one of the suspects.
She still misses her brother, Faizel, who died in a shoot-out with robbers who attacked them in their Pinetown home.
On Tuesday, she identified one of the people who allegedly attacked her family.
“I am happy that he was caught but he can’t give back what I want the most and that is my brother,” Thaslem said.
In June, the Daily News reported that Faizel had shot one of the robbers as they fled after ransacking the house. The gang escaped with jewellery, a laptop and two TV sets.
The robbery had left Thaslem’s two daughters traumatised. But she is trying to let them move on with their lives.
However, the experience still haunts her and she has to rely on anti-depressants.
The mother of two described her brother as an “amazing person” who was not scared of anything.
Recalling a conversation she had with him, she said Faizel had planned to start his own bodyguarding business. Thaslem had asked him if he was willing to take a bullet for a person, and he had said he would - not knowing that he would be killed in a shoot-out protecting his family.
On whether she believed justice would be served, Thaslem said it was hard to say, but she felt jail would be too lenient for them. She said her brother’s killers deserved to suffer for the pain they had caused her and her family.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said a 29-year-old suspect appeared in the Pinetown magistrate’s court. She said two others were previously arrested and their matters were still before the court. One of the suspects had died during the robbery and the final suspect was still at large.