Pretoria - “Love, I hear you,” were the last words uttered by slain businessman Wandile Bozwana to his wife before he was wheeled into the operating room where he died of his injuries.
His widow, Tsholofelo Bozwana, told mourners at his funeral service that she had rushed to his side at Unitas Hospital after hearing of the shooting, and was with him in his final moments.
“From the emergency centre to the theatre, I was with him. He would say things, but I did not hear him. However, I was able to hear him say ‘Love, I hear you’,” she said.
Bozwana was gunned down on October 2 while travelling with a colleague on the N1 highway in Pretoria.
It is understood that when the company-branded Renault Clio he was a passenger in stopped at the Garsfontein off-ramp, an unidentified attacker shot at him.
He had nine bullet wounds to the back and lower body, while the female driver of the Clio was shot twice in her waist. She was, however, able to drive to a place of safety before police and paramedics were called.
Bozwana was buried at the Garsfontein Cemetery following an intimate send-off at the NG Kerk in Moreleta Park on Saturday.
His eldest daughter, Mmabatho “Mamizo” Bozwana, spoke on behalf of his four young children. She read a letter in which she detailed what she would do with her father if she had one more day to spend with him.
“I made this letter short like our time together.
“Dad, I will see you when I see you. Just know that I will always love you,” she said in tears.
Her message was preceded by a picture slide of Bozwana with his family while a tribute song was playing in the background.
Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula was among the speakers and asked Bozwana’s family and friends not to jump to conclusions about who could have been behind his assassination.
“It is easy to knit things together and point fingers, but that will not help.
“Let us try and help the police with every piece of information we have,” Mbalula said.
Mourners applauded when the minister said they did not want the man behind the trigger, but the person who ordered the hit.
“Why did you kill this man? Did you kill him for political reasons?
“Did you kill him for business reasons?
“We want to know the truth because the truth shall set us free,” Mbalula said.
He told Bozwana’s children that their father was a hero and that they should know that police were dealing with the case.
Thandi Modise, chairwoman of the National Council of Provinces, said that Bozwana had predicted his death just a few months ago.
“That day at Ruth Mompati’s house (following her death in May), Bozzi told me he knew he was going to be killed,” Modise said.
She said the killers should be found, tried and locked up.
Bozwana, 43, was described by his friends as intelligent, generous, honest, outspoken and a man who loved his family.
They praised him for how he was able to grow from being a policeman to a millionaire businessman through hard work and becoming educated. He had various degrees and diplomas, including a BAdmin Honours in labour relations, and an MBA in finance from the North West University.
His generosity was one of the more talked about aspects of his character.
“We met in 2004 when I was straight out of university.
“He told me ‘here is an opportunity and I want you to share in it with no strings attached’.
“That’s the kind of businessman Wandile was,” said Gert Hooghiemstra, a business sector representative.
Whoever has information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the killers of Bozwana stands to gain a whopping R2 million.
North West Business Forum chairman Sello Mogodiri made this offer during Bozwana’s funeral
Mogodiri said their R2m offer was to complement the work of the police, saying it was in the interest of justice that his killers were found.
He described Bozwana as a selfless man who gave generously to uplift the community of Mahikeng but expected nothing in return.
Bozwana was also known to be a funder of the ANC and had taken the North West provincial government to court on several occasions.
Pretoria News and The Star