THERE WAS A BIG BANG

A night of togetherness turned to tragedy when this family decided to make a potjie

- COLIN HENDRICKS

AFTER a long week of court appearances and client consultations he was looking forward to spending the evening with his family.

Lawyer Ivan de Villiers fetched his daughter and her boyfriend from the home for the disabled where they lived and took them to his home in Wellington in the Western Cape for their regular weekend visit.

They had everything planned: there was a rugby game on TV that Saturday and he was going to teach his daughter, Adri-Marie, the waltz in preparation for her home’s Valentine’s Day dance.

Nothing was going to stop them from enjoying the weekend – especially not loadshedding. There was a full schedule of blackouts ahead but who needed lights when you had a nice potjie on the go.

Which is exactly what Ivan was cooking that Friday night: a delicious lamb potjie with veggies. Adri-Marie (37) and her boyfriend, Dean Rabie (34), were each tending their own potjie.

Ivan usually cooked his potjies over a small gel-fuelled fire. The gel, which is placed in a bowl, usually burns for about 40 minutes before it needs a refill.

It’s the same type that caused the injuries to Pippie Kruger – the little girl who in 2011 suffered third-degree burns to 80% of her body when a fire-starter gel container exploded at a family braai (YOU, 23 August 2018).

Ivan’s get-together was in full swing. The food had just started simmering, friends had joined them and the atmosphere was festive.

“But then the potjies’ flames started to sputter,” Ivan recalls.

Adri-Marie asked her dad to refill her container with gel so her potjie could keep cooking. “I added gel for her then filled up her boyfriend’s too.”

Dean had been sitting across from Adri. “I was adding the gel when there was one big bang and a fireball,” Ivan recalls.