More than a year after a 24-year-old motorcyclist from Alberton died in a collision, his mother is demanding answers over what she believes were unexplained delays in the investigation into his death.

Enrique Robbertze da Silva died on 2 May last year when his motorcycle collided with a Volkswagen Polo near Kota Joe Roadhouse.

His mother, Mandy da Silva, said she became increasingly frustrated after repeatedly being told that blood test results needed for the case were not yet available, reports Alberton Rekord.

She said she contacted the National Health Laboratory Service herself and was informed that the results had been ready in July last year and collected on 18 July before being sent to Germiston Mortuary.

According to Mandy, the results remained there for about nine and a half months before she intervened and approached a colonel at the Alberton SAPS Detective Unit.

She said the colonel retrieved the results and also helped correct an error on the front page of Enrique’s autopsy documentation.

Confusion over the docket

Mandy said the culpable homicide docket was submitted to the prosecutor’s office on 3 May this year and that she followed up with senior prosecutor Kenny Ramavhoya four days later.

She claims the family was initially told that the docket could not be located before it was eventually found.

Mandy said the prosecutor also discovered that there were allegedly two dockets relating to the same case.

According to Mandy, Ramavhoya reviewed the docket and indicated that it was in order and that a summons would be issued for Romeo, the driver allegedly involved in the collision.

The family was later informed that Romeo was due to appear in court on 20 July, but Mandy said he did not appear.

She was allegedly told that the case had not yet been loaded onto the court system.

Separate firearm case

The family also opened a separate case after alleging that Romeo’s brother pointed a firearm and threatened people at the crash scene.

The case was initially opened at Brackendowns SAPS before being transferred to Alberton SAPS.

Mandy had previously told the Alberton Record that she was informed the firearm case had been withdrawn after additional witness statements allegedly failed to corroborate her version.

However, on 30 July, Mandy forwarded the Alberton Record a message she had received from a colonel at Alberton SAPS providing an update on both matters.

The message stated: “Cas 158/07/2026 was collected and there are queries that need to be addressed by the investigating officer and yourself.”

It further stated that “the culpable homicide matter is still with Kenny and he promised to issue ‘summons’.

The message appeared to indicate that the firearm case was still being dealt with and that the culpable homicide matter remained with prosecutor Kenny.

Family raises safety concerns

Mandy also said the family had received threats and that she had been followed by vehicles without registration plates.

She alleged that a man she described as a senior Gauteng traffic official threatened her and told her to stop speaking about her son’s case.

The family has since approached private security companies for additional patrols around Mandy’s home.

The allegations have not been independently verified.

SAPS: Investigation is complete

Warrant Officer Joe Phokungwane of Alberton SAPS, the investigating officer in the culpable homicide case, rejected the family’s characterisation of the investigation as delayed.

“I’ve done my investigation. I’m waiting for the court to come with a decision,” he said.

Asked when he received Enrique’s blood test results, Phokungwane said he could not provide the date because the docket was no longer in his possession.

“It went to court,” he said.

Phokungwane said journalists seeking information contained in the docket would need to make an application to the police station.

“There is no delay,” he said, describing the investigation as normal.

He confirmed that the docket was submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority in May and said his investigation was complete.

NPA and SAPS responses outstanding

The Alberton Record sent an enquiry to the National Prosecuting Authority on July 29 regarding the status of the case and the concerns raised by the family.

The NPA has been followed up several times, but the response received has been that it would revert.
No substantive response had been received at the time of publication.

Alberton SAPS also received the enquiry on July 29.

The enquiry was initially directed to Sergeant Mkhwanazi, who is handling the investigation into the alleged pointing of a firearm and threats.

He advised that he could not provide the requested information and instructed the Alberton Record to send the questions to the station’s communications department.

The enquiry was subsequently sent as directed, but no substantive response had been received at the time of publication.

The article will be updated if further responses are received.

The family says it remains determined to establish what happened to Enrique and whether all aspects of the case have been properly investigated.

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