Collins case rearrests stall

Suspects at large seven years after murder

TODAY marks seven years since the murder of prominent East London farmer Ashley Collins, and his family have yet to see any justice served.

Collins, 37, was shot dead on his Macleantown farm during the early hours of June 13 in 2008.

Within weeks, six suspects were arrested by police investigators, but later released due to insufficient evidence to prosecute.

Each year Collins’s family place an insert in the newspaper in memory of him, and his parents, Clive and Pat Collins, have not given up hope that those who murdered him will be brought to justice.

With the help of their lawyer, the family contacted the Hawks for assistance in the case. Their determination has resulted in the docket being handed to the Eastern Cape Hawks for further investigation.

This has been confirmed to Saturday Dispatch by the national Hawks office.

Speaking to Saturday Dispatch, Clive said a decision was taken to have the suspects rearrested. However, he claimed nothing had come of it. “Nothing happened after that decision was taken for the rearrest of the suspects. We hear that two suspects have since died, and we want the police to arrest the remaining four and appear in court,” he said.

National Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the family had contacted their head office regarding the investigation.

“The Collins family was briefed regarding the challenges in that case. At some point our head office also got involved but there is no breakthrough yet.”

In an advert in today’s Saturday Dispatch, the Collins family states that information was shared with them that the six suspects were on the farm the night before the murder.

“There’s strong evidence that these six people could well have been the murderers.”

Clive said after their son’s death, he and his wife visited police monthly to check on the progress of the case.

“It was towards the end of 2013 that we engaged the Hawks and as a result of that meeting, the Hawks held an inquest in East London and as a result of their investigation I was instructed by my attorney that the Hawks instructed the police to arrest the six suspects in order to establish further information. That was five months ago,” said Clive.

Mulaudzi said: “The case in question is still under investigation; there is no arrest yet. The Collins family was briefed regarding the challenges in that case.

“The docket was last week ... brought back to our Eastern Cape office for further investigation.” — bonganif@