The harsh summer sun bakes in Klawer, a riverside pitstop on the N7, the main arterial to the Northern Cape or for some travellers, Namibia. Klawer recently made headlines with the murder of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk, suspected to have been on Wednesday, 2 February 2022. 

His mother, Triesa van Wyk, has experienced immense trauma since her child’s disappearance that Wednesday. Two days after he went missing, on Friday, 4 February, in a shock to the small town, his remains were found in a drain on the property of 54-year-old Daniel Smith, who is accused of the boy’s murder. 

John Willemse, stepfather of murdered Jerobejin van Wyk, and the murdered child’s mother, Triesa van Wyk. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

This Saturday, 26 February 2022, Van Wyk will have to bury her son without his arms, legs and part of his head. Police have not yet recovered the missing body parts of the slender boy. Smith is facing charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.

Jerobejin’s mother told Daily Maverick her only wish is for Smith to tell her what her son’s final words were before he died.

Police spokesperson Colonel André Traut said Jerobejin and some other boys were accused of stealing mangoes from the accused’s property in Second Avenue on Wednesday, 2 February. The murder accused at first claimed that he chased after the boys in his bakkie, hit Jerobejin, gave him bread and cooldrink, and went inside his house. He claimed that when he came back outside, Jerobejin was gone.

Murder accused Daniel Smith, 54, is alleged to have kidnapped 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk on Wednesday, 2 February 2022, in Klawer in the Western Cape. Jerobejin’s remains were found in a drain on Friday, 4 February 2022. Smith is facing charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice. (Photo: Supplied)

One of the boys who managed to escape hid in a bin in the cemetery near the accused’s home. The 13-year-old, a witness, told police that he saw the accused drive over Jerobejin before putting him in his bakkie and driving away.

A reliable source told Daily Maverick the autopsy report showed that no bread was found in Jerobejin’s stomach, only grapes. 

South African Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen, who visited the crime scene on Tuesday, 15 February 2022, confirmed that there was no mango tree on the premises of the accused.

The home of Daniel Smith, the man accused of murdering 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk in Klawer in the Western Cape. His lawyer Santie Human said her client had been involved in occult activities since the age of 13. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

On the day Jerobejin went missing, his panicked mother alerted the police, but she told Daily Maverick that she waited from 6pm till around 3am the following morning to be assisted at the station.

She claims the two police officers who were on duty could speak English and isiXhosa. Van Wyk speaks and understands Afrikaans only and could not communicate with the on-duty police officers.

Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed they were investigating these claims by the mother.

The body of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk was found on Friday, 4 February 2022, by police inside a drain on the Klawer premises of the home of the accused. Police have confirmed the remains are that of the murdered boy. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

On Thursday, 3 February, community organisations and residents combed the area looking for Jerobejinbejin. The next day, some of his remains were found in the drain on Smith’s property.

‘We are busy arranging his burial’ 

Two weeks after the murder, Daily Maverick visited Klawer on Thursday, 17 February to speak to the family and community members. 

In the streets, music blasted and sunflowers swayed in the over 30°C heat. Pupils walked home from school. But in front of Van Wyk’s home, it was quiet. The small one-bedroom council home looks tidy. It consists of an open-plan lounge and kitchen, toilet and a bedroom.

Nissen had informed Van Wyk the previous day that a DNA report confirmed the remains found were that of her son. “Today [Thursday, 17 February] I’m feeling better after I heard that it is the remains of my child. We are busy arranging his burial. I want to bury his remains in a coffin because on the day of his birthday, 13 November, I want to go to his grave,” she explains. 

Former school teacher and former mayor of Klawer, Mathilda Bains, is concerned about the spike in crime and drug abuse among the youth, and soaring teenage pregnancy in Klawer, Western Cape. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

Nissen was accompanied by former Klawer mayor and school teacher, Matilda Bains, when they shared the news with Van Wyk. 

Bains is now acting as the family’s spokesperson.

On what she would want to tell the accused, the mother said: “I want to tell him that he was also a father. Why did he hurt my child like this? What were my son’s last words before he died? 

“It is heartbreaking to hear that your child was butchered. I feel the pain of my child because I did not know if he was alive [sic].”

John Willemse, Jerobejin’s stepfather, sat quietly during the interview, echoing his wife’s words about their son’s death. “I feel unhappy about it,” he said, adding since the accused has a child, “what would he say if I did that to his child?”

Damaris Kiewiets, a clinical pastoral counsellor of the Community Engagement Unit (CEU) at the University of Western Cape, says of grave concern for her is the multiple trauma that Triesa van Wyk had experienced since the death of her 13-year-old son Jerobejin van Wyk. He went missing on Wednesday, 2 February 2022 and his remains were found in a drain on Friday 4 February. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

Of grave concern for Damaris Kiewiets, a pastoral counsellor at the Community Engagement Unit at the University of Western Cape, is the multiple trauma that the victim’s mother has experienced.

“Her first trauma was when Jerobejin went missing. Secondly, the Klawer police purportedly failed to help her. Thirdly, the remains of her son were found without half his head, legs and arms. In the fourth instance, when she is going to bury the remains of her son.

“Her situation can easily lead to severe depression and in some instances to suicide, and this is what we trying to prevent. Her road to recovery is going to be a long process,” said Kiewiets, who is providing counselling to the family.

‘It stopped there’

For Bains, the circumstances that led to the death of Jerobejin are difficult to comprehend. She believes that had the community persisted with the intervention programmes introduced after the death of eight-year-old Wilfred Kriel in 2007, then things might have been better in Klawer.

“In May 2007 Wilfred was hacked to death by two young boys aged seven and 12 years. Religious leaders had a walkabout and holy water was sprinkled all over the area. But it stopped there,” Bains explained.

Five years later, she said crime had risen in Klawer; drug abuse among the youth and teenage pregnancy had soared.

The Genade Jare Diens Sentrum in Klawer, a social welfare organisation providing professional social welfare and development services in the area, painted a gloomy picture of the prevalence of drug abuse and teenage pregnancy in this farm community. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

Another problem for Klawer, she said, is that farmworkers go to work early in the morning and arrive home late at night. They are not aware if their children are in school or bunking classes.

“Every morning I would see a lot of learners not attending school. It is our responsibility as parents to stop, ask the learner[s] why he/she is not at school and take them to school,” Bains said.

The Badisa Matzi Care Centre, a social welfare organisation that provides professional social support and development services, gave insight into the prevalence of drug abuse and teenage pregnancy in the community.

The centre’s coordinator, Ria Thorn, explains: “Poverty and unemployment have driven a lot of parents in Klawer over the edge. We have become aware via complaints from learners of the parents who have become drug addicts and alcoholics.

“One of our biggest problems is the high amount of teenage pregnancies. We register up to 20 pregnancies per month. We have sessions aimed at preventing early pregnancies with young girls, but we are told young girls get pregnant so that they can get a social grant and help their struggling parents.”

The memorial 

Learners at Nieuwoudt Primary School in Klawer in the Western Cape attended a memorial service held on Thursday night, 17 February 2022, to bid farewell to murdered Jerobejin van Wyk. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

At the memorial service, on Thursday, 17 February 2022, at Nieuwoudt Primary School, principal John Cloete reiterated that at sunset that evening, the number of pupils at the school would have been 981. But because of the death of Jerobejin, that number now stands at 980. It was Cloete’s plea that the unity and care that emanated from Jerobejin’s death should continue so that his death should not be in vain.

Triesa van Wyk, the mother of murdered Jerobejin van Wyk, sobbed and struggled to light a candle at a memorial service held on Thursday night, 17 February 2022, at the Nieuwoudt Primary School in Klawer, Western Cape. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

Red was seen throughout the schoolyard, in balloons, chairs and in Triesa van Wyk’s skirt. Van Wyk and Willemse sat stoically in the front row, not saying much. It was only after Triesa, her husband and then the little boy’s biological father, Jerome Speelman, lit candles in his honour, that Triesa started crying. 

Thirteen-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk went missing on Wednesday, 2 February 2022, in Klawer in the Western Cape. His remains, without his head, legs, hands and feet, were found in a drain on Friday, 4 February.
(Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

It was an emotional moment at the memorial service for Jerome Speelman, the biological father of murdered Jerobejin van Wyk. The memorial service was held on Thursday night, 17 February 2022, at the Nieuwoudt Primary School in Klawer. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

A distraught Triesa van Wyk, the mother of murdered Jerobejin. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

John Cloete, school principal at Nieuwoudt Primary School in Klawer, said the death of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk has united the community. He wants this cohesion to continue so that Jerobejin’s death did not happen in vain. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)

The investigation

On Tuesday, 15 February 2022, Nissen met with the Klawer police, community leaders and the family of the victim.

After the meeting, Nissen reiterated that it was evident from information obtained that the Klawer police failed the family of Jerobejin. He told Daily Maverick: “We as the SAHRC have requested an investigation into the allegations that Klawer police have allegedly failed to help the mother when she reported son, Jerobejin, missing on Wednesday, 2 February 2022.”

Smith abandoned his bail application on Monday, 7 February. Smith’s lawyer, Santie Human, claimed in a statement that her client had been involved in occult activities since the age of 13. 

In a statement Human claimed, “He [Smith] wants to be delivered from the evil spirits” and she had arranged for a spiritual leader to assist.

The murder accused allegedly made a statement that he had killed four other people in Sea Point due to “spiritual problems”. 

It is alleged that the accused might be linked to the disappearance of 10-year-old disabled girl Jeneva Diergaard and 28-year-old Janine Bottom, both from Klawer, who went missing more than 18 months ago.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk indicated the investigation is at a “very sensitive stage” and SAPS cannot elaborate further on the case. DM/MC