‘Please tell us who killed our son’

Leboganag Seabi's parents hold a picture frame of him. Turffontein, Napier street. Johannesburg Picture: Rosetta Msimango

Leboganag Seabi's parents hold a picture frame of him. Turffontein, Napier street. Johannesburg Picture: Rosetta Msimango

Published Sep 27, 2015

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As Lebogang Seabi sits bleeding in his VW Polo, brain matter oozing through two bullet holes in his head and down his face, his mother, Violet, comes closer and whispers: “Papa, Mommy loves you very much. But this is beyond me. I am sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

His eyes flicker, and he nods his head. Instinctively, Violet knows that this is the last conversation between mother and son.

A few hours later Lebogang is certified dead at Mulbarton Hospital, Joburg.

The 30-year-old, who has been described as a “darling”, had been shot five times, allegedly by a gunman, while sitting in his car with his fiancée, Ntombi Khumalo, during the evening of May 22 last year.

Violet and her husband, Dan, say Lebogang’s killer has not been brought to book and the family remain in the dark about what happened that evening, although there was a witness – Khumalo.

“The case has been through two investigating officers, but we still don’t know why our only son was killed and by whom.”

It is understood that Khumalo and Lebogang were parked not far from their parents’ home when a man knocked at the window and “said something”.

“Then Lebo rolled down the window and was shot. We don’t know whether the man was black or white. We also don’t know what he said and what Lebo said because Ntombi has not talked to us about what she saw. Ntombi and Lebo had been dating for more than seven years, and they were planning to marry towards the end of last year.

“Ntombi was our only hope and one day she phoned and said she was coming to visit. I was hopeful that finally she will say what happened that evening. She came in and barely sat down for a minute, but she did ask how I was.

“I told her I miss my son and I pray she will find healing and that one day she will tell me who shot my son. It seems I chased her away because she left shortly thereafter.

“Then six months after the murder, she phoned to ask for police J88 forms because she had been contacted by an insurance company, so she needed to submit claim forms.”

The Sunday Independent tried on numerous occasions to interview Khumalo.

First she wanted the author to write down her name and contact details and said she would speak when ready.

When called again, she asked for an e-mail to be sent with detailed questions, including a line explaining how we had got her cellphone number.

We sent a list of questions, including whether she had been in the car with Lebogang when he was shot, whether she had given a statement to the police and whether she had been a witness to the murder. We asked her if it was true that she had not spoken to the Seabis about what she saw.

She e-mailed a polite response: “…However, as discussed I am not ready to speak to any journalists as this is truly a sensitive issue to me. I will be in touch with you if and when I get ready since I do have your e-mail. But I am quite happy with whatever Violet Seabi has informed you (about) and you can go to print with that if you would like.”

The Seabi family says Lebogang’s murder was traumatic for them because he had been an ideal son, “a respectful and adorable person who was doing very well for himself”. Their only daughter, Dineo, 23, breaks down as she talks about how she misses her brother. She can’t finish the interview.

“He loved school and passed his matric with a distinction in mathematics,” Violet says.

“He never gave us any problems, except when he drove his car and stayed out late with his friends, who were all educated and respectful young men.”

The doting parents enrolled him at College Campus to study computer programming. He obtained a diploma after doing a call centre course, which was how he netted his first job at Discovery, as an intern in the company’s IT department, his father says.

Only a few days before he was shot, he was to start in a management position as team leader and systems analyst.

He and Khumalo had lived together after Lebogang started working.

This concerned Violet, who suggested Lebo should move back home and save money so he could marry Khumalo because they had been dating for a while.

“We loved her and we still do. She is a very pretty, soft-spoken and lovable girl,” Violet says.

The couple were known to both families and would often spend time in their homes.

“We are sad and perturbed that she never wants to tell us what happened to our son.”

At the time of going to print, the police had yet to respond to a list of questions e-mailed to them.

The last-known investigating officer says he was reassigned to another area so he could not give us an update on the status of the investigation.

Sunday Independent

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