Farewell to a son and a grandson for Cape Flats pastors as violence takes its toll

Two Cape Flats pastors will say final goodbyes to their offspring this weekend.

Ronald Ruiters will bury his 18-month-old grandson‚ Jeremiah Ruiters‚ whose mother Abigail‚ 30 — the pastor’s daughter — has been charged with murdering the little boy. Abigail’s boyfriend‚ Ameer Peters‚ 26‚ has been charged with raping and murdering Jeremiah.

Ruiters‚ from Factreton‚ said he had been gearing up mentally and emotionally because he was preparing Jeremiah’s body for burial. “I have experience preparing bodies but never did I think that I would have to bury my own grandchild‚” said Ruiters‚ who was rushed to hospital on Saturday when his blood pressure dropped.

“I had to spend Father’s Day in the hospital and only returned home late in the evening. I have been very busy trying to get a good lawyer for my daughter.”

Ruiters said he believed in Abigail’s innocence because she was at work when Jeremiah died. “She had a miscarriage with her first-born and always wanted a baby boy. She has two other children but they are both girls. Jeremiah was very precious to her and she would never hurt him‚” he said.

In Bishop Lavis‚ Pastor Wilmot Fredericks is preparing to bury his eldest son‚ father-of-three Wilton‚ 31‚ who was killed in a drive-by shooting that claimed two other lives.

Family spokesman Gerald Adams said: “It is difficult to think that he no longer is with us. I know his parents instilled good values in him.

“The incident took place in broad daylight in the street he lives in. Every weekend another young person loses their life on the Cape Flats. It has to stop. Something must be done to ensure the safety of the people. We are becoming prisoners in our homes.”

Bishop Lavis police spokeswoman Constable Samantha Adonis said Abraham Wilson‚ 37‚ had appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court charged with the murders of the three men who died in Saturday’s incident in Nooitgedacht. His next court appearance is in August.