Slain Hillary Gardee will be laid to rest on Saturday in Kwamagugu Township, Mbombela, Mpumalanga.

Hillary Gardee’s funeral to be held in Mbombela this weekend.Image: Twitter

Hillary Gardee’s funeral to be held in Mbombela this weekend.Image: Twitter

Published May 5, 2022

Share

Gardee, 28 was abducted on 29 April and her lifeless body which had a bullet wound on her upper body was found abandoned in a field in Mbombela.

The death of Gardee has sent shock waves across the country and the continent.

She is the daughter of EFF’s former Secretary General Godrich Gardee.

On Wednesday an autopsy revealed that Gardee had a fun wound on her upper body which left the family and EFF angry and questioned how did police miss such during the scene.

On Thursday EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said Gardee’s funeral will be attended not only by South Africans but the continent because the father, Godrich is a former uMkhonto We Sizwe, he was in exile and he has got links all over the continent.

“We want to finalise the funeral of Gardee with dignity. She was a kind, generous and loving soul, her burial must be with dignity,” said Thambo.

Thambo said the discovery of the bullet was long overdue, it no longer adds substance to the conversation.

“This dented our faith in the police system that they can miss such a critical thing in the crime scene. That crime scene no longer adds value because they missed a crucial part of it. We will be waiting for updates from the SAPS. Hopefully they can redeem themselves in finding the killers so that the family can find closure as to why this happened to their daughter.

Thambo further said “Police must do their job, that is what we expect from them. We get updates from the police, we do not have any conclusive evidence to add on speculations whether the killers are known to the family or not”.

Early in the week the police in Mpumalanga preliminary reported that Gardee was discovered murdered with bruises on her body.

“However after further investigation by our forensic team, it was revealed that she was shot on her upper body. The police then conveyed such message to the family, which does not prohibit them to communicate how their child was murdered to other family members and friends,” said Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

Mdluli said a team comprising different disciplines within the police, has been assembled by the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela to investigate this matter.

“The investigation on the circumstances of how the victim was murdered is underway with a view to arrest whosoever is involved. The police are at no stage going to reveal the stages of the investigation to the public but to the relevant family,” Mdluli said.

He said police request space to investigate this gruesome murder without any disturbances.

Police said anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the murder of the victim, should contact the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111.

Thambo urged citizens to respect the funeral proceedings and not to flood the funeral and said people can watch virtually.

ntombi,[email protected]: