Family: Knock out crime

Friends and family of the murdered Corrie Sanders yesterday called on the government to act against crime.

They spoke during the funeral service for the former world heavyweight boxing champion.

Sanders, 46, was murdered by armed robbers while he and his family where celebrating his nephew's 21st birthday.

As more than 1000 people packed the Wonderpark NG Kerk, in Pretoria North, to pay their last respects to Sanders, the three men accused of killing him appeared briefly in court.

"Friends and family urge the government to protect South African citizens," the Rev Chris Gericke told the mourners, who included alleged crime boss Glenn Agliotti and Mikey Schultz, the confessed killer of mining magnate Brett Kebble.

But the majority of famous faces belonged to sports stars.

Stricken former Springbok scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen shuffled into the church and received massive applause when he was named as present.

Also there were golfer Dale Hayes, TV commentator Hugh Bladen, former heavyweight boxer Pierre Coetzer, Sanders' former sparring partner Sebastiaan Rothmann, trainer Nick Durandt and one-time heavyweight contender Kallie Knoetze.

Knoetze, who fought in an elimination series for the WBA title in 1979, said: "I'm a tough, hard guy - but when it comes to these things, I'm a softie."

Sanders wasn't shy to shed a tear either, he said.

"We cried together sometimes," said Knoetze.

Friend and radio presenter Darren Scott said: "Corrie helped raise millions of rands for charities through his participation in events, even when he was struggling to make ends meet."

He said that Sanders had "tearfully opened up" to only a few friends about his financial woes.

"During these few emotional conversations, he never asked for money."

Scott said Sanders had joined the public chorus against crime in the wake of the murders of musician Lucky Dube and former cricketer Louis Vorster - only to become a victim himself.

Sanders' son, Dean, who turned 12 on Friday, did a brave job as a pall-bearer, and daughter Marinique, 15, comforted those around her.

Slideshows and clips of Sanders' old fights were shown on a giant screen in the church, including his famous knockout of Wladimir Klitschko in 2003.

That night, you could have heard a pin drop in the indoor arena of 11000 fans when he first dropped the champion.

Yesterday, the congregation was asked to stand as Sanders' coffin was wheeled into the church, the silence broken by the sobs of his inconsolable mother, Alida.

SUSPECTS LINKED TO OTHER CASES

POLICE have linked two of the three men held in connection with the murder of Corrie Sanders to other crimes - one to multiple cases of house robbery and another to a murder.

Paida Fish, 20, Chris Moyo, 24 and Samuel Mabena, 25, appeared in the Brits Magistrate's Court in North West yesterday on murder and armed robbery charges.

Police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said Fish's fingerprints matched those found at five other house robbery scenes.

Mabena, appeared yesterday in the same court for the murder of 65-year-old Brits resident Mauritz Oberholzer.

Oberholzer was shot in the leg before being beaten to death with a shovel at his Soutpansdrift plot on September 5.

Police said the suspects were arrested in Oukasie, near Brits.

Their next court appearance will be on Monday. - Sipho Masombuka