ARLENE Omardeen has recalled the day her grandson Miguel Louw went missing in July 2018 and how she could not eat or sleep on hearing the news.
“He was such a good, disciplined child who never came home late from school. This caused great panic, I broke down panicking wondering what could have happened to him,” said the grandmother in a victim impact statement handed in at the Durban High Court.
Miguel’s body was subsequently found in a shallow grave in Phoenix in September 2018.
Mohammed Vahed Ebrahim has been found guilty of the premeditated murder of the 9-year-old. He is expected to be sentenced this week.
Omardeen said on the day he went missing the family immediately began searching for him.
As the days passed, she said, the family continued searching for her grandson and holding prayer vigils.
“I could not eat or sleep, I kept on wondering what is Miguel eating or where is he sleeping, my life came to a standstill.”
She said as the weeks passed and there was still no news, she felt like she was going “insane”.
“We lived a miserable life.”
She said every time there was a knock on the door she would rush to answer.
“When we received a message that a young boy’s body was found, my heart almost stopped.”
She said they broke down when DNA results confirmed it was her grandson.
“We questioned what did we do to deserve this. Life will never be the same.”
She said the loss of Miguel has left a permanent scar and life will never be the same.
Speaking about her relationship with him, Omardeen described her grandson as a loveable child, always smiling and willing to help with anything.
She said Miguel dreamed of becoming an animal doctor during her long conversations with him which they often enjoyed. | IOL