Bredasdorp mourns as little Elda is laid to rest
JUST over a hundred mourners gathered for the funeral of murdered Bredasdorp teenager Elda Jafta yesterday.
The 15-year-old’s body, wrapped in a blanket, was found stuffed under the bed of her 28-year-old boyfriend, hours after he carried her over his shoulder in full view of bystanders in the tiny Western Cape township of Zwelitsha two weeks ago.
Her devastated mother, Eva, clutched a framed photograph of Elda throughout the moving send-off at Bet-El Gemeente Mission Church yesterday.
“I will try and be myself, but how could my life ever be the same again?” she said.
Elda is the latest victim of horrific crime in the now notorious town of Bredasdorp.
Gift Sabondo was arrested in connection with her murder. He abandoned his bail application THE IMPOSSIBLE GOODBYE: Eva Jafta, mother of Elda, with her son Izak at the funeral yesterday when he appeared briefly in the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The case was postponed to August 12.
Community member Zukiswa Tonisi yesterday told the Sunday Times: “We can’t have a broken Bredasdorp. We need to organise ourselves at street level. We can’t ask government to be the eyes and ears in this community.”
Bredasdorp mayor Richard Mitchell, who was among the mourners, asked how many children the community had to lose before residents took responsibility for bringing about that change.
Lana O’Neill, speaking on behalf of NGO Heavenly Promise, said her organisation planned to conduct an after-hours survey in the community to see how many children were living with boyfriends.
Chrisna Prins, the grandmother of five-year-old Kayde Williams, who was raped and murdered in February this year, also attended Elda’s funeral. She was too emotional to speak.
Elda was murdered not far from where Kayde’s body was found.
It was also close to where 17year-old Anene Booysen’s mutilated body was discovered two years ago. Anene’s rape and murder led to a national outcry over violence against women and children.
Elda was laid to rest at the Bredasdorp Cemetery, her grave just 20m from those of Kayde and Anene.