Well-known Standerton resident rebuilds her life after tragedy, loss
De Sousa forgives and supports her stepson’s parole years later.
Renette de Sousa is active in the Standerton community and has a face you would recognise in any crowd. De Sousa was born in Pretoria and matriculated from Hoërskool Sentraal, where she made lifelong friends with whom she is still in contact.
In her younger years, she moved frequently and lived in several major cities, including Bloemfontein and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). During this time, she earned multiple qualifications in counselling, fitness, nutrition, and beauty therapy.
“I have always been interested in psychology and understanding why people think the way they do,” said De Sousa.
She completed her counselling studies with Jimmy Kyriacou, under whom she studied neurolinguistic programming, and also studied multi-level neuroprocessing with Edgar Phillips.
De Sousa moved to Standerton in 1986 and ran several businesses with her husband, Manuel de Sousa. In 1998, tragedy struck the family when four men broke into their home while they slept and killed Manuel.
“They stabbed Manuel 26 times and slit his throat,” De Sousa explained.
During the attack, she was stabbed three times, and after losing consciousness, the assailant assumed she was dead and fled the scene. According to De Sousa, the perpetrators were caught exactly one month after the murder.
“I will never forget the day Captain Mark Nortjé told me they had found them,” De Sousa said.
She explained Nortjé brought both good and bad news: the good – they had apprehended the murderers; the bad – her stepson had been involved in the plot to kill his parents.
Brandon de Sousa let the murderers into the house and kept the dogs at bay in his bedroom while they attacked. Fortunately, De Sousa’s two other children, aged seven and 11, were not home at the time.
Shortly before his death, Manuel had bought the Billy B Lodge, now leaving his wife to run the business alone. She quickly found joy running the Billy B Pub & Grill, known to most Standerton residents as Grasdak.
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“I wanted to create a safe space for the community,” De Sousa said.
Unfortunately, the pub burned down, forcing De Sousa to start over again. Sixteen years after her husband’s murder, De Sousa and her family supported Brandon’s parole request.
“I forgave him because I knew it wouldn’t change anything. I didn’t want to become bitter. I believe that when you refuse to forgive, you only hurt yourself,” De Sousa said.
De Sousa has since become a significant part of the Standerton community, volunteering at charities and events like parkrun, Cansa, Hande van Hoop, and more. She is now a grandmother and enjoys watching her son raise his children.
“It fills my heart with joy to see him as a father, knowing he never had a role model growing up,” De Sousa concluded.
