Call to find Chile man’s killer
KZN acting Premier Weziwe Thusi has called on the head of police in the province, acting Provincial Commissioner-General Lucky Mkhwanazi, to apprehend the killers of Chilean tourist, Slavko “Kako” Yaksic.
Last Saturday, after a national alert, it came to light that Yaksic’s body had been found just outside Ladysmith and taken to Ladysmith mortuary.
After going to Kruger National Park with his girlfriend, who had to return to Chile, the 28-year-old Yaksic went backpacking in KwaZulu-Natal and was expected to return to Chile on October 10.
When he did not arrive home, his family raised the alarm and his father, Sergio, arrived in the country last Thursday to find him.
Yaksic’s body was identified by his father late last Saturday.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said DNA testing was required to formally identify the body and a charge of murder had been opened. Yaksic had been stabbed.
This week, Thusi said: “We have conveyed our shock, sadness and sympathies to the family of Mr Yaksic. As government and people of KwaZulu-Natal, we find this incident tragic and deplorable that a tourist who was exploring the nooks and crannies of our province would be murdered in this manner. We have called on acting Provincial Commissioner-General Lucky Mkhwanazi to ensure that this matter is investigated thoroughly and to leave no stone unturned in identifying the perpetrators.”
After identifying his son’s body, Sergio said: “I’m profoundly sad, but at the same time calm with a feeling that Slavko was a very happy person.
“Slavko is not dead, he is travelling in a place where he is loved and valued, knowing new cultures, new people and making people who are with him happy.”
Yesterday, IRS private investigator Chad Thomas, who was engaged by the family, said: “It is very upsetting to think that while a large-scale search was under way, the body of the missing man had already been recovered and was lying unidentified in a mortuary.”
He thanked everyone who assisted with the search.