GQEBERHA – Posing in a striped T-shirt, Micah Klaasen smiles into the camera next to his friend Tristan Jacobs. It’s one of the last images the teenagers would take together. Both died weeks apart in separate incidents of violence.
First, Tristan was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident on Stanford Road in September and weeks later Micah was brutally attacked and killed on a Fairview street.
“These were my friends,” Anver Killian, a close friend of the pair, tells the PE Express. “There is no justice for people, especially in the northern areas.”
Devastated at the loss of two close friends, Killian organised a march for justice on Wednesday, 8 October.
“I wasn’t there when the attack happened on Micah, I only heard the next morning,” he shared. “I was so shocked and couldn’t believe it.”
Micah, a Lawson Brown High school learner and avid football player, died when up to seven suspects attacked him on Saturday, 4 October.
“Micah was my friend; we knew each other from soccer (matches) and I used to watch him play. I will always remember him as a happy person, always smiling,” Killian continued. “He also had a good sense of humour.”
More than 200 people, predominantly made up of young people and families of the two teenagers, attended the march on Wednesday.
“We want justice for the young people who died,” said Killian. “And we as young people are tired of what’s going on in our community.”
Arrests and court appearance
SAPS Walmer detectives has since arrested seven suspects, aged between 16 and 18, on charges of murder in connection with Micah’s death.
According to police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg, the suspects handed themselves in at Walmer Police Station.
They appeared in court on a charge of murder earlier this week.
Commenting on the arrests of the suspects and court appearance, Killian said he hoped the alleged perpetrators would remain in jail.
“As a friend of Micah, I think there shouldn’t be bail. I’m saying this not to hurt anyone or take advantage of the situation, but I think that justice should be served in the right way and those boys should face the consequences of their actions.”
Speaking to the PE Express Enaize Klaasen, Micah’s mom, shared how the family is clinging to happy memories.
“Micah was a lovely child; there was never a dull moment,” she shared. “He always cracked a joke, so we are clinging on to those memories.”
The teenager’s 10-year-old sister did not take the news of his death well.
“When I told her, she cried knowing that she won’t be seeing her brother again. But what I admired about her was that she wants us to lay him to rest in his black suit.”
Commenting on the suspects appearing in court and the bail application being postponed to next week, Klaasen added: “It is murder and they did it with intent. My son was outnumbered and had no defence. I am a grieving mother but let right be right and wrong be wrong.”
Micah will be laid to rest in Bethelsdorp tomorrow. The viewing will take place from 09:00 until 10:00 at the Gelvandale Community Centre, followed by the church service from 10:00 to 11:00. The burial will then take place at Bethelsdorp Cemetery.
You must be logged in to post a comment.