BY Obakeng Maje

Sixty-one- year old Reverend Elias Maretlwa and his 23-year-old daughter Leki’s deaths would have been discovered earlier had their neighbours been concerned and enquired about their whereabouts, North West MEC for Human Settlements, Public Safety & Liaison, Nono Maloyi asserted at the reburial service for the two held in Tlhabologang Sports Ground outside Coligny on Saturday.

In calling for communities to reclaim the spirit of Ubuntu and establish street committees to work with Community Policing Forums as organs of people’s power at the emotional service, MEC Maloyi as a representative of the Premier and the Provincial government also called on the church to lead the moral regeneration to defeat wickedness which he described as Satanism.

“We share your grief and sorrow because no one deserves such painful deaths. Satan has declared war on the people of South Africa, North West Province and Coligny and its’ high time that the church woke up to this reality. Satanism is the only wicked force that leads wives to kill their husbands and children and for men to rape their own children.

Many are misled by people who call themselves traditional healers to perform such rituals the guise that they will either get rich or be cured of diseases. Such rituals are wrong and should be condemned,” the MEC emphasised in a harsh condemnation

Maloyi ,the Mayor of Ditsobotla Local Municipality,Lesego Holele and Rev Modise Mogorosi who delivered the sermon called for repentance and reconciliation and urged the community to leave the matter up to the courts for justice to be served.

“Though we are saying enough is enough, we condemn unequivocally vigilantism and call on our communities to work closer with our police to ensure that incidents of this nature do not occur. Committing crime in response to a crime is inexcusable,” stressed Maloyi.

He reiterated Premier Mme Thandi Modise’ call  for families who are unable to bury their loved ones to approach their local municipalities and or social workers for assistance instead of opting for unlawful burials that might call to question their motives.

“If we had not been persistent to a point of irritating our sister in-law, the remains of our brother would still be buried in his house and his disappearance would still be a mystery,” Solucia Maretlwa, younger sister to the late priest in commenting police for their efforts and meticulous investigation which led to their gruesome discovery.

Moiloa Maretlwa on behalf of the Maretlwa and Moepeng families expressed appreciation to the Office of the Premier in meeting the costs of the reburial.

“The compassion and care of our government comforted us to the extend that we are today burying our loved ones with dignity, “he said at the service attended by close to 400 mourners.

The Executive Mayor of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, Phaedi Saku, Speaker of Ditsobotla Local Municipality Councillor Sigcau Mnyakama, Priests affiliated to the Coligny Apostolic Ministry Association, from the National Independent Congregation Church (NICC) and other local churches, Officials from Office of the Premier and South African Police Service, were among those who attended the reburial service.    

Reverend Maretla’s badly decomposed body and a skeleton believed to be that of his daughter were discovered by police buried in a shallow grave in the bedroom of their house two weeks ago.

Family members have accused the pastor’s wife, Bertha Maretlwa now in police custody pending trial for being responsible for the pair’s deaths.

The NICC Priest was reported missing in December, while his daughter had been reported missing in 2009.

According to the family the priest’s wife allegedly told them that her husband and daughter where in Botswana to train as traditional healers.

The pair was supposed to return on June 16, when the family, church members and friends were to throw a big welcome ceremony.

The wife allegedly succumbed to pressure and revealed the whereabouts of their bodies after family members questioned her when the pair failed to appear on the said date. She reportedly confessed that she had buried them inside the house often used for church services as she was poor and could not afford funerals.

The couple had six children, one of whom was buried in 2009 and the other is in police custody with her mother.