The family of slain Carmen Gouws from Lutzville-West, near Vredendal, yesterday remembered her as the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign continued around the Western Cape.
Her bloody body was discovered on her 21st birthday in an open field on 7 October.
The young woman was axed to death and the gruesome discovery was made by kids from the community.
Yesterday, her alleged killer, Calvin Cloete, appeared in the Lutzville Magistrate’s Court where he faces charges of murder.
The accused, who previously abandoned his bail application, made a brief appearance yesterday as the case was pushed back to 7 February 2024 for further investigation.
Gouws’ cousin, Hanlo Gouws, says that the family is still coming to terms with her tragic death.
Hanlo tells the Daily Voice: “We want justice for the way that she died at the hands of a person that all of us knew.
“I have known him for a few years as we lived in the same area, but the way he killed her isn’t nice.”
Cloete was a free man for three weeks before he allegedly committed the murder. He had previously been convicted of stabbing Gouws and had stalked her since high school.
Hanlo explains: “He was always harassing her and he is the reason that she left school.
“He is the reason why she started drinking, but we never asked about it. He should stay where he is because we don’t know what kind of obsession he had with her.”
Sarah Bakamela-Mgema, who has been supporting the Gouws family throughout the ordeal, adds that the community wants the justice system to lock Cloete away forever.
Bakamela-Mgema says: “He must never see the sun again, even if he gets a death sentence.”