By Michelle Jones
A Methodist minister has told how his life has collapsed around him following the murder of his wife and the arrest of his son for the crime.
"The pain is still there, it is heavy," the Rev Fikile Makananda said on Wednesday, pointing at his heart.
His home was filled with grieving relatives and supportive congregants.
"I'm trying to cope. I feel supported, but there are times, when I'm alone, when it comes like a punch."
Makananda's wife, Nonkosi, was found stabbed to death in the lounge of their home on the night of her 54th birthday on Friday.
Their son, Amandla Makananda, 18, was arrested on Monday afternoon in connection with her death. He had been missing for nearly three days.
His blood-stained takkies had been found in the house.
The family were to have celebrated Nonkosi's birthday on Friday evening and Amandla's the next day.
At the family's Bothasig home a steady stream of visitors, including members of the Methodist Church, arrived to pay their respects to Makananda on Wednesday. Phones rang constantly as people called to offer their condolences.
Sitting in a chair and staring out at the street, Makananda said: "This is on and off. There are times where I feel okay. The first two days were really terrible."
Makananda said he could not help but ask why the murder had happened.
"My deepest fear was when my son was not found," he said.
"I forgive my son. At first I was angry with him. But I have spoken to him and I asked him to explain," he said, wiping his face, his gold wedding band shining in the light from the nearby window.
He said Amandla had told him that he had only a vague idea of what happened that night.
Amandla had not known his mother had died, until he had told him. He had asked his father for forgiveness.
"I won't disown him. I've forgiven him. I'm praying that he can recover and that he can be good."
He hoped Amandla would get the treatment he needed to stop using drugs and that he would one day be in a position to help others struggling with addiction.
"I will be supportive of him. I love him. He is my son. Now we will look for him to get better."
Makananda said his son had been a tik addict for about two years and the family had tried to help him.
He had been receiving treatment at a drug rehabilitation centre and had been released on Friday for a weekend visit to celebrate his and his mother's birthdays.
Makananda and his wife were married in 1985.
"She was really supportive of me," he said as he spoke of the amount of travelling he did among the nine churches he served.
Makananda said the funeral service would be held on February 19 and would proceed from his family home in Gugulethu to Maitland Cemetery.
Earlier on Wednesday, Amandla made his first appearance in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court. Standing in the dock with his head bowed, he quietly asked, with the assistance of a translator, for legal aid.
Dressed in a blue-and-white striped jersey and black pants, he appeared uncertain of his surroundings.
The case was postponed until tomorrow for a legal aid lawyer to be arranged and for the bail application to be heard.
After having his thumbprints taken, Amandla was led back to the court's holding cells.
He remains in custody.