A Steenberg woman is seeking justice for her husband, who died after an alleged beating by a backyard mechanic.
Elaine October, 50, buried her husband Charles, 62, on 2 February.
Elaine, who worked for the City of Cape Town for 17 years, took early retirement six years ago says she bought Charles a green BMW 316i with her pension.
In September last year, the car started to give problems.
“The oil and water were mixing and there was something wrong with the roof,” she explains.
“Charles drove the car to the mechanic’s mother’s home, where he works on vehicles on the pavement. We took the car to him because he attends the church of people we know, and he has the same car.”
ANGRY: Elaine, 50, buried her husband Charles
She says the kerkbroer charged them R3 500 for the repairs but the car wouldn’t even drive.
They also discovered parts of the engine in the boot.
Elaine says this caused a lot of stress and Charles had a minor heart attack.
She says on 21 January, she, Charles and their friend Waylon Horne, 19, walked to the man’s house to talk about the “mess-up.”
“As we walked to his mother’s home, we prayed because we are not violent people,” Elaine says.
NOT DRIVING: Charles’ BMW 316i went for repairs
“When we got to the house, he was sitting on the stoep at the back door. My husband said, ‘brother, you said you were going to fetch the car’.
“To which he said we must not talk k** and that we should have towed it.”
She says when she confronted the man, he pushed her against a car standing in the garage, injuring her right arm.
Waylon says the man then attacked Charles.
“Uncle Charles said ‘ in die naam van die Here’, and then he grabbed Uncle Charles in front of his chest. He punched him in the mouth and pushed him against the wall,” he says.
“I went to Aunty Elaine to calm her. Then I saw him sitting on Uncle Charles and beating him repeatedly in the face.”
Elaine says they took the injured Charles to his twin brother Andrew’s home a few streets away and 20 minutes later he died in the chair he was sitting in.
DISCOVERED: Boot was filled with engine parts
“I was still looking for sugar water and then he passed away in front of me and his twin brother,” the hartseer widow says.
Elaine is now awaiting the results of a post-mortem to establish what had killed her husband, but she firmly believes the beating he took is to blame.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana confirms a death inquest investigation is underway by Steenberg SAPS but says no arrests have been made yet.
When then Daily Voice went to the mechanic’s house on Friday, no one was at home.