DURBAN - The family of two siblings who were killed when a boulder was flung onto their car as they travelled on the N2 highway last December, said they hoped to see the men arrested for the crime put behind bars for life.
Ebrahim Haffejee, father of Amina and Abdur Raheem Haffejee, who were killed in the incident, commended the police for their tireless efforts after they arrested three men believed to be behind the fatal rock-throwing incident last year.
A team of detectives in KwaZulu-Natal arrested three suspects aged between 20 and 46 on two counts of murder and attempted murder on Wednesday.
According to police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, the men were arrested in the Tongaat area after seven months of intense investigations. The men are accused of throwing a large boulder from a bridge over the N2, while Amina, her brother and a relative were travelling from Umhlanga to Stanger on the night of December 27.
The boulder landed on the passenger’s side of the car, fatally injuring Amina, who was in the front seat, and Abdur Raheem, who was seated behind her.
Terms
Haffejee said the family had come to terms with their deaths, however it was a “very hard and sorrowful path”.
“What has happened was the will of God. It was through our religion of Islam and prayer that we are where we are today in dealing with their deaths. Words cannot express the pain and sorrow one goes through, but we are thankful to the police for making the arrests,” Haffejee said.
While the family received closure months ago through prayer, they were now happy the alleged perpetrators had been arrested.
“What makes me happy is that no other family goes through what we did. The arrests do not change what happened to my children, but we can only hope that no other parent or family experiences this,” he said.
eThekwini deputy mayor Fawzia Peer, who spearheaded a security plan for bridges after the incident, said she was happy the perpetrators had been apprehended, and congratulated the SAPS, metro police and task teams.
“I want to congratulate the SAPS, our metro police, the provincial task team, the metro task team, together with communities and private security firms, for working together to bring them to justice. We will strive to continue on this path,” Peer said.