IT is a cold winter’s morning. A teenage girl from a village in North West province finally finds the man she has been searching for in a long time. He’s a convicted killer serving time in a far flung prison. In this extract from the book In A Killer’s Shadow – Emmaculate Cindi tells of the emotional meeting with her father – a policeman convicted of the murder of his lover
After approximately a decade of yearning and wondering, I finally undertook my journey to come face to face with the man that attempted to love me. It was on a cold June 16, 1999 when my boyfriend and his friend hitch hiked from our village to Rooigrond Maximum Prison in Mafikeng to face my biggest fear.
I had been wanting to meet the man whose thoughts occupied my mind almost every day, for years. The reception at the facility was not a smooth one. I was almost denied entry because I did not have an Identity Document (ID) but my knight in shining armour boyfriend came to my rescue by producing his student card.
When the man I came for walked through the gates from his prison cell, he looked around to find out who visited him. He did not recognize me, but I did.
“Papa! Papa!” I screamed as I laid my eyes on the man from whose loins I proceeded. Tears were flowing down my cheeks and people at the facility wondered. My father, who was still filling the register, glanced to my direction and continued to comply with prison procedures. He did not show emotions then. As I eagerly waited on the other side, he went to a small table to register his visit.
When we met, he took me into his arms. I was in tears; he couldn’t hold back his tears either. It was one of the most emotional moments of my life I’m still reminiscing about it.
Apparently, one fateful night of 8 August 1996, Papa went to the police station where he was stationed. He booked an R-5 rifle telling colleagues [saying] that he needed it to attend to a suspect that was dangerous and heavily armed. I was told that he had to book a gun as he was no longer allowed to carry one due to his history of domestic violence which was reported to his employer, South African Police Services (SAPS)
This time he wanted to use the gun on his girlfriend who had broken up their love affair after he built a house for her. Upon his arrival at the girlfriend’s house, he found a Mercedez Benz vehicle belonging to another man who was alleged to have been dating Papa’s girlfriend.
It seemed that the new boyfriend intended to spend the night at this house because lights were switched off when he arrived. Papa got infuriated when the girlfriend refused to open the door for him. He then took off the roof tiles to gain access into the main bedroom where he caught the girlfriend with another man.
In one of my prison visits, he mentioned that before climbing the step ladder to remove the roofing tiles, he made sure he blocked the door with a stick to ensure that the deceased would not escape. He then brutally murdered his girlfriend and was charged with murder and arson.
I remember him telling mama during our visit that he skipped the country to Zimbabwe because he believed Shona traditional healers are stronger than the South African ones. He believed they would make him get acquitted. He stayed there for two years under falls identity.
“My photos were pasted everywhere as the most wanted and dangerous criminal , there was a reward to any information that would lead to my arrest. I was in disguise, I kept fashionable cap ya Boy with dark sunglasses on and wrapped a sweater jacket on my waist. I looked at my WANTED PERSON photo and none of the people around me could not recognize me, so I knew it was safe to cross the border. Some lady I didn’t know actually assisted me, while the immigration officials were busy with the admin, I managed to cross over and get a lift in a bakkie. I think there was a tip off because immediately after getting into the bakkie, I noticed police officials looking for me asking around with my which was different to how I looked then”.
When he felt that the traditional herbs (muti) were working, he decided to cross over to South Africa and hand himself to the authorities. He was granted bail.
“One of the conditions during the treatment was that I should not get intimate with a woman, I did the opposite and it compromised my freedom”.
Papa related how there are no levels in prison, hence you would find him, a former police officer and politicians housed in the same facility and subjected to the same treatment of having pap, boiled egg and beetroot for weekend dinner.
He hated prison food and would request that I bring him Fish and Chips from Captain Doregos with 100% fruit juice. This was the time when visitors were allowed to bring inmates food before it was reversed in the year 2000 because inmates used to bring illegal substances which they would hide in the containers and food brought to them including dangerous weapons to assist them escape.
In 2001 he was then transferred to Mangaung Maximum Private Prison when it was opened. This was to ease overcrowding at various facilities. Prisoners that were sentenced to life, 20 years and above as they were considered the dangerous criminals within the boarders of the country were housed in Mangaung. He was prisoner number 200101709 making him one of the first group of those that opened the facility as prison(er) number 1 709.
*About the author – Emmaculate Cindi is a law student and civil servant. This is her first book.
*How to order the book – Call the author on 072 567 0088 or contact her via the following social media platforms:
Facebook: Emmaculate Cindi
Twitter :@EmmaculateC
Instagram:Emmaculate Cindi
Be First to Comment