“I’m only half a woman... I won’t be interested in anyone else again,” says Ina Bonnette, the victim of the “Modimolle Monster”.
Bonnette’s heart-rending words, told to Huisgenoot magazine, follow the gang rape and brutal attack allegedly orchestrated and committed by her estranged husband, Johan Kotze, and three labourers.
For more than two-and-a-half hours the petite Limpopo mother was subjected to a savage sexual assault and now faces months of multiple surgeries to repair internal injuries and injuries to her disfigured chest. She is on antiretrovirals to counteract the threat of possible HIV infection, apart from the deep psychological scars she will bear.
“Ina will have her first reconstructive operation in April,” said her closest friend, Elize Coetzer. “It is going to be a long process.”
In excruciating pain, fortified by massive doses of painkillers and tranquillisers and having trouble walking, Bonnette, 42, attended the funeral of her son, Conrad, 19, in Bela Bela (Warmbaths) on Friday.
The large crowd of mourners were in awe of her bravery as she laid her child to rest. “Mommy will always love you,” said Bonnette, before gently laying a red rose on his coffin at the rain-drenched funeral.
While Bonnette was clearly in distress, she cut a dignified figure.
“She was as beautifully groomed as always,” said Coetzer. “Ina was pale and shook as though she was very cold, but she showed such courage. She adored Conrad and was so proud of him. He did very well in his first year at university and was given a full bursary. He had a very bright future.”
The mother of two said last week that she had been left “half a woman” and would never be able to contemplate another relationship after her savage gang rape allegedly at the hands of three labourers, and allegedly orchestrated by Kotze.
It is alleged Kotze then slashed her breasts and mutilated her sexual organs with sharp implements.
Apart from the prolonged savage assault, Bonnette endured an even greater agony, being forced to lie, bound and gagged, while her son begged Kotze to show him mercy, before Kotze allegedly shot him three times, in the leg, chest and the back of the head.
“At times my mind left my body, but then it would return and a part of me hoped his finger would slip on the trigger of the gun,” Bonnette told an Afrikaans daily newspaper.
She told the local newspaper Die Pos that after the rape, torture and the shooting of her son, Kotze allegedly lay down on the bed next to her and said: “Old girl, you have no idea how much I love you.”
As residents of the small town of Modimolle bay for Kotze’s blood, Coetzer told the Tribune her friend was a fighter whose strength was being tested to the limit.
“Ina is the gentlest, most caring woman I know, and a fantastic mother. She has enormous resilience. Her life has not always been easy, but she has overcome challenges with grace and determination. With God’s help she will move on from this dark chapter.”
Coetzer and Bonnette met three years ago when both were living in Modimolle (Nylstroom). They quickly became friends. Coetzer provided a shoulder to lean on as Bonnette re-established her life as a single mother to Conrad and her daughter Angelique after her divorce.
“Things were going so well, but then she met that monster,” Coetzer said. “I would kill him with my bare hands if I got the chance, and that is the way everyone in the area feels, even if they never met Ina. He does not deserve to live after what he did.”
Coetzer said those in Ina’s circle were wary of Kotze from the outset.
“Something about him wasn’t right. He was clearly obsessed with her from the moment they met, and would not take no for an answer. He was determined to possess her.”
Bonnette and Kotze were married after a short courtship, but on the eve of the wedding Coetzer sensed her friend had misgivings.
“I could tell she felt she was making a mistake, but she still went through with it. I told friends I didn’t think the marriage would last, and that upset her, but after just four months she had had enough.”
Coetzer said the news on Saturday that the fourth of Bonnette’s assailants had been apprehended, had given her some peace of mind.
“At least now she doesn’t have to remain in hiding. I spoke to her this morning and she sounded a little stronger,” she said.
“As I am worried about her medical expenses, I have started a fund to help her. I feel enormously protective. I just want to hug her all the time, and tell her life will get better.”
Coetzer said Bonnette’s financial position seemed precarious, and she would need all the help she could get.
“Ina has not said so, but I strongly suspect he took a lot of money from her.” - Sunday Tribune