A Gqeberha mother, who lost her son and ex-husband in a double murder earlier this year, is appealing to the public for any information that may lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
On Monday, 3 February, at approximately 11:00, Heinrich Minnie (47) and his son, Tiaan Minnie (26), were shot and killed at the Arlington Waste Facility in Victoria Drive, Walmer.
A double murder case was opened at SAPS Walmer and is currently being investigated by the Eastern Cape Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Investigation (SVCI) team.
Samantha van der Vyver, speaking to the PE Express, said she believed her son and his father were deliberately executed.
“It was definitely not a robbery, if you look at how many times they were shot,” she commented. “I had to identify the bodies. If you look at the number of times Tiaan was shot compared to those of his father, it was like an execution.”
She added that Heinrich was shot in the head and that his cell phone was stolen, while Tiaan’s phone was recovered at the scene.
“My ex’s phone was switched on in June and I informed the police investigator, but I don’t know if anything came of it.”
Minnie explained her frustration with the lack of updates regarding the investigation.
“The police aren’t telling me much; at this stage, I don’t know what is happening.”
In an emotional interview, Van der Vyver shared that although there were three witnesses with her son and his father at the time of the murder, there has been no positive leads.
“Tiaan and his father had three workers at the back of the bakkie at the time of the shooting. They said there had been protest action or striking in front of Arlington Waste Facility that morning.”
She continued, “According to one witness the main gate was closed so they drove around the crowd to the back entrance. They were apparently done and were about to leave when Heinrich checked one of the tyres and was removing the repair kit when the shooting happened.”
Heinrich was shot dead next to the vehicle while Tiaan was killed in the passenger seat.
“Apparently there were two shooters who wore masks and were on foot.”
In her efforts to find more witnesses to come forward, Van der Vyver printed 200 posters and put them on streetlight poles last week.
“Someone must know something or have seen something, especially if there had been protest action in the area on the day.”
She is asking anyone who remembers being at that location, who may have taken cell phone footage of the protest to come forward.
“They may have footage of the killers’ faces or maybe footage of the bakkie trying to enter the waste facility. Any footage of that day would be very helpful because the CCTV cameras were not working at the time.”
The family has since offered a reward of R6,000 for any information leading to the successful arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the murders.
Anyone with information that could assist the police with this investigation is urged to contact the Provincial SVCI investigator, Warrant Officer John Lourens, at 071 352 4706 or 08600 10111. Tip-offs will remain anonymous.
SAPS was approached for an update on the case but had not responded at the time of going to print.
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