TEARS FOR BOXER WITH A BIG HEART
Family, friends and ex-sports stars salute ‘generous’ and ‘remarkable’ Sanders
SLAIN boxing legend Corrie Sanders was buried yesterday, with hundreds of relatives, friends and sporting personalities he was close to paying an emotional farewell to a man described by many as a gentle giant.
Tears flowed as his coffin was carried into the Wonderpark Dutch Reformed Church in Pretoria North, with Sanders’s brother, Mike, and son, Dean, leading the way.
Sanders was at the Thatch Haven Country Lodge, in Brits, with his family on September 22 when robbers entered and began firing at random. Sanders was wounded in the hand and stomach and died in the Kalafong Hospital early the next day.
He was attending his nephew Michael’s 21st birthday party at the lodge. Sanders shielded the body of his 15-year-old daughter, Marinique, during the shooting.
At the service, a slideshow depicted Sanders as a man who enjoyed life and who loved his family and friends.
Broadcaster Darren Scott described Sanders as a man who had made the ultimate sacrifice – giving his life to protect his daughter.
Three men who have been arrested in connection with his death appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Scott said boxing did not define Sanders and he would have traded the gloves for the golf clubs any day.
Sanders was a man who would have given his last penny to make someone else happy, he said.
“He was always willing to contribute to any charity or cause and he literally helped raise millions for charities. He gave some of his own memorabilia to assist when he was struggling to make ends meet,” Scott said, adding that the past few years had been difficult for Sanders.
“He never once asked for help. He did not want to burden family and friends with his problems. If you were happy, Corrie was happy. He treated young and old with respect and never had an agenda,” Scott said.
Close friend Kallie Knoetze thanked numerous sporting personalities for attending.
Sanders’s sister, Ruby, who came from Australia for the funeral, said in a letter to him: “You were one in a million, it was a blessing to have you as my brother. You were unique.”
Sanders’s brother, Mike, recalled their younger days spent on Patrysvlei, the family farm, when they used to run around barefoot. “I have so many good memories. I was always so proud of you, you were so good at sport. There was nothing you couldn’t do, except maybe homework, but it wasn’t that important then.”
Singer Kurt Darren performed a song for Sanders. They had become close friends in recent years while playing golf.
Former Springbok pivot Naas Botha said Sanders was even better than the tributes suggested. “He was truly a remarkable man and a champion. Few people can say that.”
Former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen, pictured left, and Blue Bulls president Louis Nel also attended the funeral, as did boxer Baby Jake Matlala, pictured right, while golfing legend Gary Player sent a note of condolences. While mourners were paying their final respects to Sanders, Paida Fish, 19, Samuel Mabena, 27, and Chris Moyo, 25, appeared in court to face one count of murder and three of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The matter was postponed to October 8 for further investigation. The men remain in custody.
Mabena also appeared in court yesterday in connection with the murder of farmer Mauritz Oberholzer near Brits on September 5. This matter was postponed to today.
The three men were arrested in the Oukasie informal settlement, near Brits, on Thursday after police received a tipoff, police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said last week.
At the address where two of the men were arrested, police recovered a cellphone, vehicle key, purse, handbag, and cash believed to have been stolen during the robbery on September 22. “Police then went to a second address and a third suspect was arrested,” Ngubane said.
Outside the court, members of the Oukasie SA National Civic Organisation staged a protest against crime. “Our constitution is failing us because criminals go free,” said one of the members, Michael Mhlongo.
“They have taken our champion. We are sending our condolences to the Sanders family.”