Widow robbed of closure as murder trial is postponed
MBOMBELA - The man accused of murdering John Bosman in 2018, Zanempi Goodwin Shongwe (31), appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court last week.
The matter was postponed to August 11 to allow the state time to trace two key witnesses in another murder in which Shongwe is to be tried.
Bosman, who was 61 years old at the time, was with his wife Leigh when three men walked into their home at The Rest Road. The couple had been living in the house for 28 years. Leigh travelled to Mbombela from Pretoria, where she now resides, to attend the trial.
"I stayed on at the farm for two years, but later moved because I could not deal with the trauma. I had a very strong support network of friends in the Lowveld, but I needed to get away from the house more than anything," Leigh said.
According to the widow, losing her husband at the hands of one of the attackers has made her bitterly angry.
"He was my soulmate. We met when I was 19 years old and we haven't been apart since. To lose your soulmate is like having your heart ripped out," she said.
In the aftermath of John's murder, Leigh has received counselling, but contended that returning to Mbombela only to have the case postponed, is robbing her of any closure.
"Returning here each time dredges up what happened that evening and I have to think about it all over again."
Her only wish is to see the attackers brought to justice.
She continued, "He must walk down those stairs and never come back again. The worst is that the two other suspects have still not been arrested.
"John's murder has impacted the community greatly. Do they realise how many people their actions have affected?" she asked.
According to Leigh, her husband owned a construction company that provided work for his staff, who were reliant on a monthly salary to make ends meet.
She recalled the evening when the three entered their home and remembered her husband telling her to lock herself in the bedroom.
"John had a booming voice and I immediately obeyed. It was a balmy Lowveld evening with soaring temperatures and he had left the doors and windows to our home open to allow the air to circulate.
"After locking myself in our bedroom, I could hear the sounds of a scuffle, banging and gunshots," she added. Leigh called Hi-Tech Security from the bedroom in which she had been locked and found that her husband had been fatally wounded.
The magistrate granted the postponement with Shongwe remanded in custody until August 11.