Pretoria - For Roelof “Jaco” Janse van Rensburg’s family, the relief of having his body returned to South Africa was short-lived after it got stuck at OR Tambo Airport’s customs services for two days.
Janse van Rensburg’s body arrived from Mali on Saturday, but the family was told they could not collect it from the airport “because the airport’s customs services did not operate on weekends”.
Janse van Rensburg, 39, was one of 13 people killed more than two weeks ago when a group of rebels attacked their hotel in the Mali town of Sevare.
Two fellow South Africans who were with him as part of a UN peacekeeping mission survived the attack.
Janse van Rensburg’s wife, Carina, was left disappointed after she waited at the airport for the remains on Saturday morning only to be told her husband’s body would be released on Monday.
Speaking to the Pretoria News at her home in Booysens, Carina said the hurdle had been a bitter-sweet experience.
“On one hand we are relieved that we can finally get closure and lay him to rest, but on the other hand we have been left heart-broken by the delay.”
However, despite this hurdle, Carina said the hardest part of retrieving Jaco’s body was over.
“We were told that most of the other bodies were still stuck in Mali. We were lucky to have gotten his body back so quickly,” she said.
Carina said she was grateful for the role played by the Department of International Relations and the South African embassy in Mali in the repatriation of Jaco’s body.
Sitting with two of her four children, twin brothers Kobus and Eugene, Carina said her children were yet to fully grasp the gravity of the situation.
“They are sad. But it hasn’t hit them yet. They are still going to school and are receiving support from there as well,” she said.
Kobus Smal, Carina’s brother, described how the waiting had taken an emotional toll on the family.
“It was difficult because we could not do anything because we did not have the death certificate.
“Funeral arrangements had to be put on hold and we could not get anything in order. This has put a strain on us,” he said.
Janse van Rensburg’s remains were accompanied back home by one of two South Africans who survived the attack.
Neels Cronjé arrived on Saturday afternoon on a separate flight.
Cronjé had vowed not to return to South Africa without the remains of his friend and colleague Janse van Rensburg.
Cronjé said he did not have an option but to remain behind even though he wanted to return home the night after the attack.
“The process of getting Jaco back was lengthy as it had to go through multiple channels.
“One of the challenges was the issue of language.
“Every document that was sent to Mali needed to be translated from English to French,” Cronjé said.
But he said they had to be patient and are happy that it worked out in the end.
Janse van Rensburg had been due back in the country next month.
He was contracted to Utair, an aviation company contracted by the UN contingent in Mali.
Carina said they were eternally grateful to Cronjé for his support and also the role he has played in their lives over the past two weeks.
She said the funeral would be held on Wednesday at the Dutch Reformed Church in Booysens.
Pretoria News