THE Radebe family had high expectations for their new makoti. They wanted to surprise her on her one-month wedding anniversary with gifts.
But Samantha Radebe’s life was taken exactly a month after she married the love of her life, Albert Radebe.
The 29-year-old was shot when she was caught in the crossfire between police officers and hijackers in Alexandra township.
And her family want answers. It is the day of Samantha’s memorial service and a cloud of sadness hangs over Zimbabwe Loop in Alexandra.
Visitors come in and out of the in-laws’ home where Samantha lived with her husband, his grandmother, Sannie Modiba, and her two children, Ulesego (6) and Masego (1).
The family welcome mourners with muffins and juice. The female relatives wear long skirts and have covered their heads with doeks as a sign of respect.
Sannie says Albert hasn’t eaten a decent meal since arriving home to find his wife’s lifeless body covered with a silver body bag a few metres from their home.
A numb Albert keeps himself busy by offloading firewood from a bakkie in the driveway for a family member cooking on a three-legged pot.
“I’m tired, I won’t be able to speak, I’m sorry,” he says, holding back tears.
“Maybe my aunts or her sister can speak to you, but it’s all too much for me right now,”
Albert’s aunts, Melitha Hlatshwayo and Sophie Marumo, Sannie and Samantha’s eldest sister, Anna Hlapolosa, are still battling to make sense of her death.
“We don’t know how this all happened. Nothing like this has ever happened here before.
“This street is very safe and we all know each other,” Anna says.
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