The man responsible for raping and strangling 10-year-old Elroy van Rooyen, and who has been linked to the deaths of 22 other young boys, is set to be a free man next week.
The notorious Station Strangler, Norman “Afzal” Simons, will be released from Drakenstein Maximum Correctional Facility, in Paarl, in five days’ time after spending nearly three decades behind bars.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed last week that Simons would be released on parole, having served 28 years behind bars.
Simons, then a 27-year-old teacher, was suspected of being a serial killer after the bodies of 22 boys were found in shallow graves in Mitchells Plain between 1986 and 1994. The boys were reportedly found face-down with their hands tied behind their backs, and according to reports, there were signs they had been raped.
He was only convicted for the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Elroy van Rooyen, in 1995.
He was sentenced to 25 years for murder and 10 years for kidnapping. His sentence was increased to life after a failed appeal bid.
The family of Van Rooyen are said to be devastated following the news that Simons would be released from prison.
It is alleged that meetings were held with Mitchells Plain police and several community organisations by the DCS last week to discuss the details of Simons’s release.
Simons is expected to live in Parow, Cape Town, with his family following his release.
While the DCS has confirmed his release, crime-fighters in the Mitchells Plain community want him to apologise to Mitchells Plain residents if he wants to be reintegrated into society after his release.
Chairperson Norman Jantjies confirmed that the Mitchells Plain Community Police Forum (CPF) had been present at that meeting and that DCS will host a public meeting at the Lentegeur Civic Centre at 2pm tomorrow to discuss further details.
“We were at the meeting where they discussed his release last week,” Jantjies told Independent Media.
“At this stage there are many questions and concerns and we cannot gauge the community’s response as yet, and this is why it is important for them to come out and listen to what the department has to say on Sunday and communicate their concerns.”
Jantjies, who helped search for the bodies of the missing boys nearly 30 years ago, said many residents are reliving the terror and trauma of that time.
“The younger generation may not have any recollection, but the adults who were at school at the time of the Station Strangler are now reliving the fear of their school days, when they were instructed to walk in groups as the killings were taking place,” he explained.
Jantjies said the CPF doesn’t anticipate violence from Mitchells Plain residents, but believes Simons must apologise.
“We cannot talk about rehabilitation because there has never been a confession, not even for the one case he was convicted on.
“Norman should come and ask the community for forgiveness for the fear they lived in if he wants to be reintegrated into the community,” he adds.
The Parow CPF are yet to comment on Simons’s release, following information that he would be relocating to Parow.
“Since the news broke, it is clear that the Parow community is upset that they were not consulted,” said Parow ward councillor Franchesca Walker.
“There is fear about where in Parow he will stay and there are questions about his rehabilitation. How do parents know that he will not re-offend? These are legitimate concerns.”
DCS have also apparently already consulted with the victim’s family and will now speak to the other families.
Simons’s release comes a year after SA Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen called for the Station Strangler to be released, saying he had done his time.
“I was present when the bodies were discovered, I took the late former president Nelson Mandela to the house of the Samaai family. I am of the opinion that the law has already taken its course,” SA Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said at the time.
“(Simons) has paid for his mistakes, whether he did one or others, leave it in God’s hands. We do not condone any rape or murder but we must not be hypocrites, let us be consistent,” he said.
DCS spokesperson Candice van Reenen said the department would not be commenting on Simons’s release.
“We are interacting with the victims and community and will therefore not make any comment on the matter at this stage,” she added.
Meanwhile, criminal experts have urged the police to keep a close eye on Simons once he is released, as they are unsure whether the convicted murderer has been rehabilitated.
Professor Christiaan Bezuidenhout, a criminologist at the University of Pretoria, told the media this week that there were a lot of parolees who commit crimes once they are out of prison.
"The one thing we cannot predict about human behaviour is whether they will act the same way again. The Station Strangler has been there for a long time, maybe he will say to himself, ‘I don’t want to go to that place again’ and try to control himself.“