Durban: May is a painful reminder for the family of nine-year-old Sadia Sukhraj, who was killed during a botched hijacking in Shallcross in 2018.
Four years have passed since that fateful morning of May 28, when Sadia was shot dead.
She had been on her way to school with her father, Shailendra and brother when they were hijacked.
They had stopped to drop her brother off at her grandmother’s house when the hijackers pounced, making off with the vehicle with her inside it.
Her father, Shailendra, opened fire on the hijackers. In the shootout, one of the hijackers was killed, while the other was apprehended by angry community members.
Sadia died at the scene. She sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest.
A ballistics report presented to court showed that it was Shailendra who fired the shots that killed his daughter.
However, the court found that he panicked while trying to stop the hijackers.
A year after her death, Sbonelo Mkhize was given life imprisonment after being found guilty of Sadia’s death and 15 years for robbery by Judge Esther Steyn.
Speaking to IOL this week, family spokesperson Pastor Cyril Pillay said 28th May 2018, is a daily heartbreaking reminder of deep sorrow and pain that will live in the hearts of parents, grandparents and families.
“The blessed memories of an innocent child is a scar that will be borne till death do us part.”
Pillay said the family we spend the day quietly in prayer and reflection of a budding and intelligent child,whose resemblance is in her younger brother Jaziel.
“Long live the spirit of Sadia.”
IOL