President Cyril Ramaphosa has “instructed” Police Minister Bheki Cele to investigate allegations that cops failed to help search for eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk.
Just a day after Ramaphosa visited the home of the Van Wyk family in Clare Street, Ravensmead, on Tuesday, Cele also paid the family a visit on the president’s instruction.
He first went for a briefing at the Ravensmead Police Station where Tazne’s case was handled, and then headed to Clare Street to listen to the family’s side of the story.
According to parents, Terence Manuel and Carmen van Wyk, the police did not handle their child’s abduction and murder with caution, telling Ramaphosa that “they were not present
during the searches, they did not communicate well with us”.
They said there was always miscommunication as to who should receive the information of their child first, they as the parents or the public.
Terence alleged that the investigating officer was suspicious of him, “to a point that the officer suspected me of
kidnapping my own child but when the child was found, they did not even come to us until I called them myself”.
Cele said after the parents raised their concerns with the president on Tuesday, Ramaphosa instructed him to look into the matter.
“We will pursue the investigation and we will brief the family and the report will go to the president,” Cele said.
Moehydien Pangaker, 54, the man accused of killing Tazne, has a long list of previous offences, including murdering his own son, but was released on parole each time.