“It was a very emotional day. We could see the happiness and joy on the faces of the preschool children that came to play, and they said, ‘uncle, thank you to Emaan for our new park’.”

So said the proud father of 7-year-old Emaan Solomons, tragically killed in gang crossfire while playing outside her family home in Ocean View six years ago.

Life celebrated

To celebrate her life and the safety of children across South Africa, the City of Cape Town officially renamed Libra Road Park in Ocean View Emaan Oosthuizen Park (where she has her father’s surname) to honour her memory and her family.

Last year People’s Post reported that Emaan had joined her playmates for a school ball game in a cul-de-sac (road that ends) outside her family home on Tuesday 25 February 2020 when a stray bullet hit her.

Five years later, her killers were finally sentenced in the Western Cape High Court to 35 years in prison without the possibility of parole, aside from other charges, on Friday 2 May last year.

Emotional month

People’s Post spoke with Emaan’s father, Azmir Ridauw-Oosthuizen, who hoped the park will become a beacon of safety and protection for the youth of Ocean View.

“Emaan’s birthday is just around the corner, on 9 September, always a very emotional time for us. We could see God had a big part to play in this event. Sometimes I’m lost for words. Yesterday, the family shed a lot of tears in remembrance.” It should be a place where youth must play freely without fear of harm, he said.

“We should focus on the future of our children, for there are kids that use the park every day. It’s as the Mayor said, this park should show us how important and valuable life is and how inconsiderate it was that Emman’s life was taken.”

To create the memorial park it was revamped and refurbished from its unkempt state, littered with refuse, Ridauw-Oosthuizen said.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis led the emotional renaming ceremony along with Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews, who chairs the City’s Renaming Committee, and Mayco member for Community Services and Health Francine Higham.

Refurbished park

The revamped park contained newly planted trees, wall artwork and refurbished play equipment — a seesaw, roundabout and hopscotch.

Ronald Solomons also expressed enormous pride in the memorial to his granddaughter. “It makes me so sad to imagine where my grandchild would have been today. She had a dream to be either a make-up artist or a hairdresser; she loved playing with lipstick and would always do the make-up of her cousins and her dolls.”

“It’s such a great loss and children are very important and they are the future,” said Hill-Lewis.

“Our parents also have a big part to play to keep our kids safe. Little Emaan’s story is a heartbreaking one, but I was always struck by the warmth and humanity of her family. May this park’s new name, art, trees and refurbished play equipment be an enduring source of civic pride for this community. The City will keep working for safer streets, and keep pushing to be ever stronger partners to SAPS in the fight against gang and gun crime.”

The City’s Naming Committee was pleased to support the renaming of the park as a symbol of hope for local families, Andrews said.

“May the tragedy of Emaan’s story in the future be associated with the resilience of local families to keep striving for a better tomorrow.” Higham said the City looked forward to continued partnerships with the Ocean View community to protect and care for this shared public space.

“The goal is for our parks to support recreation, environmental conservation and social well-being. Through continued investment and community partnerships we can ensure these valued public spaces remain safe, accessible and enjoyable for all residents.”

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