“I will not rest until there is justice for my son, and I will not rest until his killers sit for what they have done.”
These are the heartbreaking words of Melanie Hendricks, a Hanover Park mother whose 16-year-old son, Lushaan, was gunned down in gang crossfire in December along Surran Road an area that had been terrorised with a spate of shootings at the time.
Lushaan, a learner at Crystal High School, was walking with friends in Hanover Park when he was allegedly caught in a gang-related confrontation and fatally shot. He died in broad daylight, another young life lost to the relentless violence that continues to grip parts of the Cape Flats.
Two suspects, aged 22 and 33, were arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder. They made their first appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where the case was postponed to 28 January for a formal bail application.
Outside the court, Hendricks, herself known as a crime fighter in the community, stood surrounded by supporters, all united in their call for justice for Lushaan.
Speaking to the Weekend Argus, Hendricks said the events of that day are playing over and over in her mind.
“I got the call that my son was the one who was shot,” she said. “I ran to the scene and picked up his lifeless body, still praying over him, asking him to stay with me even though I knew he had already taken his last breath.”
She described the devastation the killing has brought to her family.
“They didn’t only break me, they broke my family. They broke my children who long for their brother,” she said. “My son was not a gangster. With stories like this, you always hear people say a mother doesn’t know her child outside the home, but I can confidently say I did. He was very much still a child he would even cry sometimes if I spoke too loudly.”
Hendricks said she would never protect wrongdoing, especially not when it comes to her children.
“I would never cover up for any of my kids, and they know it,” she added.
One of the most painful moments for her, she said, was walking into the courtroom and seeing the families of the accused.
“They knew Lushaan. He grew up in front of one of them,” she said. “That is why I think he didn’t run. He probably felt they wouldn’t shoot at him but they still did. In cold blood and in broad daylight.”
Now, instead of watching her teenage son plan his future, Hendricks must sit through court proceedings for his murder.
“I have to attend a murder case for my son, my teenage son,” she said. “While their mothers can still visit them in jail or call them, I have to attend a murder case and visit my child at his grave.”
Her grief is matched only by her resolve.
“I’ll never forgive you,” she said, directing her words at those accused of killing her son. “And this is a mother’s promise to you: justice is coming. They will pay for my child’s life.”
As the case heads back to court later this month, Hendricks and her supporters say they will continue to show up not only for Lushaan, but for every child whose life has been stolen by senseless violence.
Weekend Argus
