50,000 say no to Cremer murder suspects bail
While the petition against bail for former Knysna local Meghan Cremer’s suspected killers is gaining momentum, her brutal murder in the Cape Flats continues to send shockwaves through her hometown, the province and the country at large.
Knysna horse-riding fraternity’s Sam Lurie said crimes like these make them worry about children who tend to spend hours at the stables. “We fear for our daughters since one of the suspects was a known stable guy,” said Lurie.
On Knysna-Plett Herald’s Facebook page, an outpour of comments by locals to the news of her death included, “…May they suffer in jail, may they see Meghan’s face every time they close their eyes, may their lives know no peace… ” posted by Dali Bambiso.
Another, Sharon Dreyer, wrote, “And just before Women’s Day… I hope the judicial system locks those responsible far away from society…”
Cremer was last seen alive where she lived on Vaderlandsche Rietvlei farm in Philippi, Cape Town on the day of her disappearance on 3 August. She worked at her brother Paul Cremer’s bakery, who asked people to help find his missing sister and her white Toyota Auris.
Four days later, authorities arrested three suspects in possession of Meghan’s car at a roadblock, which led police to discover her body on a sand dune in the area on 8 August – the day before Women’s Day. Chillingly, one of the last posts Cremer shared on Facebook states, “If I turn into my mother, or even half the woman she is, I will consider my life a successful one.”
Murder suspects Jeremy Sias (27), Charles Daniels (39) and Shiraaz Jaftha (34) were remanded in custody until their formal bail application in Athlone Magistrate’s Court today (Thursday 15 August).
In the meantime, a petition against bail as well as a general outcry against attacks and murders on especially women and children in South Africa is gaining momentum, with 50 000 signatures so far. The petition was started by Tassi Carelse under the SA Women Fight Back banner. The movement strives to unite women to fight crime.
Carelse did not even know Cremer but says she was ‘the cherry on the cake’. “My whole life I wanted to speak out and Meghan gave me a voice. When I saw the killers could get bail something just snapped. I said no way can they get bail! I had to do something to prevent these men from doing more horrible things,” said Carelse.
She happened to be invited to join a Facebook page called SA Women Fight Back just a day after it was started by Bronwyn Litkie. “I have always been a rebel at heart and have since joined as site administrator and we are tackling the bull by its horns. We will use platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to empower South African women with skills like self-defence. We will also be holding a peaceful protest outside the court on Thursday.”
Andre Jansen van Vuuren commented on Goodthingsguy.com: “I am sick and tired of the fact that we are not safe in a country that has all the potential to be great. I want these guys to be an example of our law that was supposedly created to protect the innocent. Show us that it was and keep these evil men where they belong, behind bars.”
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News