Teacher’s R10 000 reward granted to Hout Bay police

THE R10 000 reward a former teacher had offered for information on the killing of her former pupil, Siyamthanda Betana, 19, will be donated to the Hout Bay police for their “hard work” in tracking down a suspect.

Betana, of Imizamo Yethu, was shot dead when chaos erupted during a violent protest in the area last month. Shocked by the death of his son, Thabiso Betana died in hospital after he suffered a heart attack.

They were both buried in Queenstown at the weekend.

Following the teenager’s killing, Betana’s former high school teacher, Ellen Fedele, offered a R10 000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest and conviction.

Weeks later she was informed that a suspect had been arrested and therefore her reward would not be needed. “I felt that I should donate these funds to the Hout Bay police for the hard work they did in finding and arresting a suspect,” Fedele told the Cape Times.

She said, although her first instinct was to donate the funds to Betana’s mother Agnes Betana, she was in the Eastern Cape.

“She (Agnes) spoke to me before the funeral of Siyathanda and his father on Saturday and agreed that the money be donated to the police. This was because her son’s funeral costs were covered by the University of the Western Cape , because he was a first-year there and others had helped them as well,” said Fedele.

She said her donation was the least she could do to honour the memory of the “sweet, soft-spoken boy whose promising young life was cut short”.

Yesterday, Agnes said she and her family were still grieving but she had to remain strong for her young daughters. “I have no problem with Ellen donating the money, but we must first make sure the correct people are rewarded.”