Johannesburg - As the world celebrated International Day Against Drug Abuse on Wednesday, residents of Klipspruit West in Eldorado Park and Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko took to the streets of the township.
The march was in memory of 28-year-old Tracey-Lee Martins, who was killed on April 27, allegedly by men she had grown up with who wanted a “quick drug fix”.
Martins was assaulted until she died in front of her three-year-old son. Her body was found tucked in bed. Martins’s grandmother, Rookeya van der Westhuizen, was punched in the face and choked by the killer.
On Wednesday, the family said they had lost confidence in the police.
They told Mazibuko and Kliptown station commander Johannes Mnguni they wanted the investigating officer removed from the case.
The MEC heard that Van der Westhuizen and her great-grandson had moved out of the house in fear.
“We feel intimidated and unsafe. Tracey-Lee’s grandmother is afraid to live in her own house because some suspects were released,” said Martins’s uncle, Richard.
Family spokesman Robert Pillay said there were witnesses in Klipspruit West, yet the police still failed to act.
The sister of one of the suspects was even willing to testify in court, he claimed.
The officer was described as one of the best detectives on the case.
The Star