AfriForum’s Trauma Support Unit last week supported the family of Fanie and Colleen Engelbrecht at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court in the East Rand after the couple was brutally murdered during a farm attack in 2018.
Julius Mapayi Goncalves (24) and Jossias Nhalungo (36), both from Mozambique, were found guilty of murder, robbery and the possession of illegal firearms by Judge David Makoba. Two other suspects are however still at large. Judgement will take place on 6 April 2020.
The Engelbrecht couple was brutally attacked on their farm Welgevonden on the West Rand on Mothers Day 2018. Colleen was burnt with an iron and strangled with the cord and Fanie’s throat was slit. The guilty parties escaped with a tablet, cell phone, cash and two firearms.
“It is important for the Trauma Support Unit to render assistance to victims of violent crime, as well as their families. It is extremely traumatic for victims to appear in court. They not only relive the tragic chain of events that they and their loved ones went through, but also do not always understand the processes or technical aspects of the court. We would like to simplify this process for them as much as possible,” says Magda Coetzee, Support Officer at AfriForum’s Trauma Support Unit.
Send an email to trauma@antiek.afriforum.co.za for more information regarding the Trauma Support Unit.