Centurion cyclist a generous and kind-hearted soul

A Centurion cyclist who was shot and killed during an armed robbery while cycling has been described as a generous and kind-hearted soul.

Gert Vermeulen (57) dedicated his time by donating bicycles to underprivileged communities, according to friends.

Vermeulen was shot dead during an armed robbery while cycling with two other people on a trail in Mnandi, near Olievenhoutbosch, on Saturday morning.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said a case of armed robbery and murder has been opened.

“It is reported that the three victims were cycling in Centurion on Saturday, October 16, when at around 08:00 they were attacked by about five unknown men.

“The suspects shot the deceased and robbed him of his bicycle before running away from the crime scene,” Masondo said.

Elephants, Rhinos and People (ERP), which Vermeulen was part of, gave tribute on their Facebook page.

“It is with indescribable sadness that we learned about the death of our friend and colleague on Saturday morning.

“Gert co-founded the project Bikes4ERP, which has benefitted more than 500 students over the past six years, with the delivery of the last bike having taken place just under a month ago in Madikwe.

“The energy that he brought to each ERP project that he was involved with was remarkable and unique to Gert. His great heart and kindness will be sorely missed by all.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to Gert’s family, friends and colleagues. We pray that they are consoled during this very difficult moment,” ERP said.

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Vermeulen was the co-founder of Bikes4ERP together with his friend Nicolai van der Merwe.

Speaking to Rekord on Monday, Van der Merwe said Vemeulen’s sudden death was a shock.

“It was senseless and life these days is cheap,” he said.

The two met in Pretoria through work and became friends.

“We started working together 12 or 15 years ago. During those early days, we worked on various projects. We both realised we had our love for cycling about 10 years ago and that’s where our friendship grew,” he said.

“Around that time we decided to share the joy of cycling with other people.”

They then began donating bikes, which inspired them to start a charitable organisation called “BOMB Centurion” in 2013.

“The modus operandi of BOMB was to build bicycles from parts collected as donations. We did this for a few months and managed to donate a bike per month, on average,” said Van der Merwe.

In 2016, Vermeulen and Van der Merwe founded a charitable organisation called Bikes4ERP aimed at helping underprivileged children.

“Since its launch, we have donated 402 bicycles in total and Gert was involved in all of them. We targeted mainly two villages, which were Blouberg and Madikwe.

“We were always committed to donating bikes to any kid who lived 5km or further from school because we never wanted any kid to skip school. I can say we have seen how impactful giving a bike to a child can be and this kind of gave them a chance in life to finish their education and elevate them out of poverty.”

Van der Merwe said what he will miss about Vermeulen the most is his generosity.

“What attracted me to most was his work ethic, he always gave a 100% in everything. Secondly, his absolute giving heart. He was always giving and caring and I will miss that about him,” he said.

A memorial service for Vermeulen will be held on Thursday afternoon, the family said in a statement.

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