Justice For Lee: ‘In my heart I believe that Lee is still alive’

For Kaylah Mentoor, mother of the missing Liyaqat ‘Lee’ Mentoor, who was three years old when he disappeared, 25 October will be forever etched in her memory, but not necessarily for all the right reasons, Roodepoort Record reports.

This was the day that Onke Hartin Mashinini, 29, was sentenced for the murder of Lee, but, even though they felt justice was served, she said that she felt cheated.

“As the judge read out the sentence, I was feeling upset, it was not sitting well with me and I wanted to scream. But, I think it was more because I was hoping Onke would, throughout the trial, give answers as to where we could find Lee, but he did not. I feel that the sentence is appropriate, because he will be serving out his time, but, to be honest, even if he had received three life sentences, I would not have been happy. It was a long journey, a roller coaster ride, but, now, I am relieved that it is over and I don’t have to go to court any more,” she said.

But, the past 19 months have been difficult for her, and she said, “Going to court every time was difficult for me. Hearing the same story over and over again, and having to listen to all the lies, not just from Onke, but his family as well, got very annoying and, at one stage, I did not want to go to court any longer. But, I forced myself to keep on going, and, at one point I just became numb, and felt that it was not even my life they were talking about”.

During court proceedings, Mashinini also wrote a letter to her, claiming he still loved her, which came as a big surprise to her.

“The letter was a surprise, and him claiming he still loved me was news to me. And, even though I forgave him, I was disappointed that he only played games, and still refused to tell us where Lee is. He only gave me false hope, saying Lee is still alive – why did he not tell us where he is?” she said.

She confirmed that, even though they do not know where Lee is and do not have any answers, they will not have a memorial service soon, and explained, “I will not have a memorial service for Lee until I have seen a body or received conclusive proof that he is dead.

We will also not stop searching for answers, to ensure we get closure, but I will not rely on Onke to help, as he will only continue to lead everyone on false paths and give us false hope.

As a mother, I cannot believe that Lee is dead. In my heart, I believe he is still alive and Onke is not telling us everything.

I refuse to believe he is dead and will continue to do so until I have received physical proof. I will continue to hope, until the day it is shown to be not so.”

The only thing that made her journey a bit easier was the support she received.

“For other parents and families going through something like this, I can only emphasise the value of a strong support network. That is the only thing that helped me through this difficult journey; without it, I would not have been able to go through this. The support received from strangers also helped me through.”

She concluded by saying that she has forgiven Mashinini, and she would also go and visit him in prison when she is ready.

“But, this will not be any time soon,” she said, “it might only be in a month or even a year’s time. I need to see him face to face, to tell him how I feel, so he can physically see my emotions and reactions and maybe realise how I feel. Until, then, I am working on myself and getting my life back on track.”