“My sister’s murder has taken a piece of my heart that I will never get back. I am standing here in a tremendous amount of pain, and my soul won’t rest until her killers are brought to justice.” This is what Mickey Otong’s sister shared with Action Society’s Kaylynn Palm outside the Wellington Magistrates court yesterday. Action Society has formally been mandated to oversee Mickey’s case. Action Society, along with a large group of community members showed up at court yesterday to urge that Mickey’s attackers be denied bail. The case has been postponed to November 1 for the continuation of arguments between the defence and prosecution.
Action Society commended the Investigating Officer who was assigned Mickey’s case. “He was thorough, dedicated and knew all the details of the case. We are confident that he is committed to bring Mickey’s killers to justice,” said Palm.
He said it will take one or two months for the investigation to be completed. As it stands, the post-mortem report and photos as well as DNA, are outstanding. However the state believes they have a strong case as items and belongings of Mickey were found in the possession of the suspects at the time of their arrest. In addition, both men have a criminal background.
Solemn words about a beloved Mickey were echoed by the many Drakenstein community members who showed up outside the court yesterday in support of her family. Mickey was 63 years old and a pillar in the Drakenstein community. She worked at a popular local soup kitchen. She was found strangled to death in her home. Witnesses saw a young boy running out the house with his hands bound and a cloth stuffed into his mouth to stop him from crying for help. Her murder sent shockwaves through the community.
“We are saying enough is enough, we don’t want to see this type of violence in our communities. This is a very small community and we all feel her loss. We always stand together and have a motto ‘jou kind is my kind’, and we continue to live by that,” said a local activist.
