TRIBUTE TO MURDERED MAN
THE BROTHER of a man brutally murdered in South Africa has spoken for the first time about the devastating impact on his family — and revealed the one “ray of light” in their lives.
British-born David Ezekiel was found dead in February, a week after he went missing from his home in Johannesburg. The grim discovery came days after his family launched an impassioned plea for his safe return on social media.
His brother Immanuel, a 55-year-old property developer, described the past weeks as “a very difficult period for all the family”.
“We’re completely heart-broken,” he said, although he also revealed that Mr Ezekiel’s daughter, Charlane, who lives in California, has just announced she is pregnant for the first time.
“That has been one ray of light in this horrific tragedy,” he said.
Mr Ezekiel’s death had been traumatic for the family, particularly because of the way he died.
Immanuel said: “Everybody loses people but the way we lost David was very hard to come to terms with, especially because of what they did to his body.”
Mr Ezekiel was allegedly shot by two thieves who were involved in a plot to steal two cars he owned. They then allegedly set fire to his body in a bid to cover up their crime.
Mr Ezekiel was identified only by his dental records and a bracelet he was wearing at the time of his death, according to Immanuel. A man and a woman have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Mr Ezekiel’s family — his two brothers, Immanuel and Sas, and his son Jason and daughter Charlane — have organised a special tribute.
Next month they will hold a memorial football match in Barnet, with proceeds going to Norwood, the Jewish children and families charity.
A fundraising page for the event describes Mr Ezekiel, who emigrated to South Africa 35 years ago, as a “king amongst men” who “left a legacy of kindness, of loyalty, of genuine spirit and was everyone’s friend”.
The page was sent up by Immanuel, who was a member of a successful football team at the Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2009.
He told the JC: “When our manager David Pollock heard about what happened to my brother, he decided to contact all the players from that game to bring them back together for a memorial match.”
They decided to raise funds for Norwood, a cause close to the Ezekiel family.
“We are hoping
some good will come out of something bad,” said Immanuel.
“We really want people to come along to the match and help create a special atmosphere, whether or not they donate.”
Members of the Ezekiel family will be playing the match, at the home ground of the Maccabi London Lions FC on Rowley Lane, Barnet, on Sunday May 14.
Mr Ezekiel, who was born in London and grew up in Stoke Newington, was an experienced chef who worked for several Jewish welfare organisations. He was divorced, semi-retired, and had been running a handyman business in South Africa in recent years.
Immanuel criticised South African police and the Community Security Organisation (CSO) — the country’s equivalent of the CST — for botching the initial investigation into his disappearance.
“It was just so poor,” he said, claiming his brother’s body was already in the city’s mortuary the day that the family discovered he was missing, but that it took a further week before police realised.
He said the family was so frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation that they were forced to hire a private investigator.
“My brother was registered as a John Doe at the mortuary. If he hadn’t been identified within 21 days his body would have been cremated, which is what the people who killed him were hoping for.”
Following a post-mortem examination, Mr Ezekiel’s body was repatriated to Britain. In a eulogy, Immanuel and Sas paid tribute to Mr Ezekiel as a “loving, generous and kind” man.