Why him, asks mom of son who died in her arms
A Gqeberha mother’s worst nightmare came to life when her son died in her arms shortly after he was shot.
New Brighton resident Khanyiswa Skeyi is on a desperate quest to find justice and ensure the person who pulled the trigger ends up behind bars.
“I just have one question, why him?”
Twenty-year-old Elonathemba Skeyi was shot on Thursday.
“He had so many dreams, and instead of us planning his 21st birthday we now need to plan his funeral.
“His birthday would have been on September 19.
“My heart and my mind struggle to make sense of this.
“I hope they arrest those fools soon.”
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said a case of murder was under investigation.
He said the body of Elonathemba had been found in the street in Tuta Lane, New Brighton with one gunshot wound to the head.
“The motive for the murder is still being investigated.”
Skeyi said she was on her way back from a supermarket when a group of people began screaming at her, telling her that her son had been shot.
“They said I needed to hurry as he was still alive,” she said. I can “I’had t describe. this feeling It is like inside my me whole body just went numb. I had goosebumps.”
The distraught mother said when she arrived at the scene, Elonathemba was lying in a pool of blood.
“I started praying. I said ‘God please, God please help him, save him, God, please’.
“I then fell onto my knees and gave him the biggest hug ever, and when I looked at his face again his eyes were closed and I knew he was no more.”
Skeyi, a mother of three, said residents had then phoned emergency services.
“It was not long after that when police, the ambulance and a forensics van arrived.
“When I saw the forensics van, I knew it was the end and that there was nothing they could do for him.
“My heart just sank.
“It’s a feeling no mother should ever endure.”
Skeyi said Elonathemba was her everything.
“He was my baby,” she said, sobbing inconsolably.
“I was a single parent and he did everything for me.
“Even when I was sick, he always looked after me.”
She said Elonathemba had big dreams.
“This year, he was supposed to go to the bush to become a man.
“He was looking forward to that. He just wanted to be a man,” Skeyi said.
“He also wanted to one day make a lot of money and get us out of the ghetto, but now it’s the same ghetto where he was killed.
“I want him to be at peace and to know that I am thinking of him every second and every minute of every day,” she said.
His uncle, Monde Nenene, said Elonathemba was a quiet and reserved young man.
“He had respect for his elders, and he enjoyed doing his own thing and always looked out for his mother,” Nenene said.
“We are mourning with Khanyiswa.”
Another uncle, Vulisango Skeyi, said he was at a loss for words.
“I just hope that the law takes its course and that Elonathemba is at peace.
“We will collect his spirit soon.”
Beetge said the investigation continued.