Man in court over murder of Tafelsig girl

INSTEAD of celebrating Eid, the family of Ayesha Kelly will be spending the day at the Western Cape High Court for the pre-trial hearing of the man who is alleged to have shot her just over 18 months ago.

Ayesha, 10, was caught in rival gang crossfire in Oudekloof Street, Tafelsig on the night of December 8, 2019.

The Grade 4 learner from Tafelsig Primary School died on the scene, with her mother, Inshaaf Kelly at her side.

Kelly said: “Me and she were walking to the shop and someone called me and I heard a shot and someone said she was laying on the floor. By the time I got there, she was in so much pain and she passed on there. People were screaming. I was frightened. I didn’t know what was going on around me.

“Every time when we go there, the case is postponed. I don’t know what to expect. We are not so good. I am living here in a gang war in our area. Every time they shoot someone, shots go off, it hits me and I go back to that night. It’s something that doesn’t go away, with all this gang violence going around.”

Ayesha, who was the eldest of three children, dreamt of becoming a doctor. On her birthday, April 16, food was distributed to children in the area in her memory.

Three suspects were arrested, but only two will appear because one is believed to have been killed in jail.

“I feel its taking so long. I just want it to get finished so I don’t have to every time see them,” Kelly said .

She said one of the suspects was a close family friend.

Cape Flats community activist Stanley Jacobs said there was a dire need for trauma counselling for families affected by gang violence, as well as access to lawyers, in order to see justice meted out. “Many of our children are dying with their dreams because of gangsterism.”

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed that the two suspects would appear in court this morning for a pretrial hearing.