I thought my children would be safe close to me, says Godrich Gardee

Godrich Gardee on Thursday expressed his pain after the murder of his daughter Hillary.

The former EFF secretary-general told Sunday Times Daily he blamed himself for her demise. 

“I thought by bringing my children closer to me they would be safer. I never knew I was exposing them to such danger,” said an emotional Gardee. 

He was referring to the Kamagugu home in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, which he bought for his children to live in after their mother died three years ago.

Before this they lived in the White River area.

The house where Hillary lived with her brother was modest, but had good security — high walls, armed reaction and dogs. 

But it was outside these walls that Hillary was apparently abducted, then murdered, between April 29 and May 2. 

On Thursday Hillary’s aunt said they were still trying to piece together who was behind her death, saying the 28-year-old lived a quiet, down-to-earth life and had no enemies.

“Why did they have to kill her in such a brutal manner,” asked Shariffa Gardee, struggling to hold back tears. 

She was alone at the house on Thursday as many mourners were heading to Gardee’s home in Mbombela to offer their condolences. 

Hillary’s body was found by timber workers on Tuesday morning. 

She had been shot from behind, allegedly in the back of the head, and her body tossed into a field outside Mbombela four days after she went missing. 

“I don’t think she had any enemies. Everyone loved her,” said Shariffa.

“She was such a sweet girl, who loved everyone and always had a smile on her face,” she said adding that she would miss Hillary’s smile and laughter.

This sentiment was shared by a neighbour, who said Hillary was bubbly.

“She was very kind and down to earth. One would not tell she’s a child of a politician,” the neighbour said.

Because of her quiet lifestyle, it did not take long for Hillary’s family to realise something was amiss when it got dark on April 29 and she hadn’t returned home.

Retracing his daughter’s footsteps, Gardee went to the Spar supermarket about 6km from their home, his daughter’s last known destination. 

“Her dad saw the footage from the store. She was walking around in the store with her daughter and it was just the two of them. She paid for her groceries and was seen leaving the store and we don’t know what happened next,” said Shariffa.

“She was supposed to catch a taxi back home. We are not sure if she ever got into the taxi,” she said.

According to Shariffa, Hillary’s brother raised the alarm when it got late. The family became more concerned when they could not reach her by phone.

“She’s not someone who would be out till late,” Shariffa said.

A missing person’s case was opened after Hillary’s daughter was found.

She was with Hillary on the shopping trip, but found on the street about 1km from her home that evening. 

“She was apparently found by passers-by who were shocked to see such a young child alone on the street at night. It was around 8pm,” Shariffa said.

The child told the strangers she was waiting for her mother who was “fighting”. The police were called. 

The child is said to have repeated that “mommy is fighting, but will come back”.

The little girl is reported to have initially been adopted by Hillary’s late mother when she was a baby.

Hillary is said to have taken over the adoption after her mother died.

The child is now in the care of her biological family.