Layden Petersen was 15 when he was shot in Delft, Cape Town, in December last year. Photo Supplied
11 March 2020
Grandparents of a 15-year-old who was shot and killed in Delft three months ago say the Delft police have told them nothing about the progress of the investigation.
Jayden Petersen was raised by his grandparents, Cathrine and Farrel Petersen, who speak of him as their son.
Jayden was gunned down on 6 December by what his grandparents suspect were gang members. “They shot him seven times in the street in Leiden while he was on his way to the shop. They just came and shot him.”
“It took us seven days to get a case number from the detective who was investigating the case. After three days of silence, I approached the detective and he said ‘At least his docket is here on the table and it’s not like the other couple of hundred that are in the closet’. I lodged a complaint against him,” said Farrel.
Since then, he said, the family had not been given any information on the progress of the investigation.
Described as a sweet boy who was looking forward to doing grade 9 at Delft Technical High School this year, Jayden wanted to be a mechanical engineer or a professional soccer player.
“He had so many hopes and dreams for his future and it was cut short just like that,” said Farrel. He said rumours were going around that his grandson was a gangster but these were false. “I know my son, he would have never joined a gang.”
“All we need is answers regarding what happened,” said Farrel.
The Petersens told GroundUp that they had since moved away from Delft because they had been getting death threats.
“We decided to leave the area because we fear for our lives and though we do not believe that our son was in a gang, there is a gang factor in all of this. Leiden is riddled with gangsterism. But we refuse to stop until we find out what happened to our grandson and we get justice,” said Farrel.
Police spokesperson Siyabulela Malo said: “The case you are referring to in your enquiry is still under investigation and no arrests have been made so far. This office can confirm that a service delivery complaint was registered by the family of the deceased and it is an internal matter that is still under investigation.”
“The detective has to give feedback of the progress of the case to the immediate family of the deceased,” said Malo. But Cathrine said the family had not been given any feedback at all.
Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said, “The case you are referring to was transferred to the provincial anti-gang unit, and is still under investigation. In terms of whether SAPS received a complaint against the warrant officer related to the identified criminal case, the response is yes.”
Van Wyk did not say whether any arrests had been made or whether the warrant officer against whom the complaint was laid was facing any consequences.
“All we want is information,” said Cathrine.