ON November 15, Leanne Douglas and her business partner and best friend, Fiellies Swanepoel would have celebrated their joint birthday and the one year anniversary of the opening of their restaurant, The Red Rooster at Spiller’s Wharf in Port Shepstone.
A devastated Ms Swanepoel, who met Ms Douglas two years ago, recalls the fond memories she she has of her friend. She is struggling to come to terms with Ms Douglas’s death, but believes God has given her the strength to continue without her friend. The Red Rooster’s doors have stayed opened, as Ms Swanepoel believes that’s what Ms Douglas would have wanted. Ms Swanepoel has been running the restaurant until a decision is made regarding the future of the business.
Ms Swanepoel said that she is anxious to find out what led to the death of her friend. “It’s absolute madness to shoot at a woman driving alone. I have hundreds of questions. Why were they chasing her and shooting at her? You don’t shoot unless you get an order.”
Ms Swanepoel said they were considering hiring a private investigator. “We want to know why these police officers haven’t been named,” she said. “We have so many questions… and are both angry and heartsore. The world needs to know who gave Leanne a death sentence.”
Ms Swanepoel described Ms Douglas as ‘an awesome, creative and arty person who had many talents, from writing short stories to handicrafts’. She has also travelled the world and had collected recipes from every country she visited.
“She was outgoing and a go-getter. We always said Rome wasn’t built in a day, because we weren’t there,” she said, sadly. “She was my best friend. We were like battery and torch,” she added. “She would do anything for anyone, and she didn’t have a lot of enemies. She was such a nice person.” She said Ms Douglas’s mother, Leonie Luckin, was particularly hard-hit as she had lost both her mother and only daughter in the space of a month.
Ms Douglas and her kitten Diesel, which she rescued from outside a car repair workshop, were well known to many South Coasters who visited her restaurant. Diesel has since been adopted by cat lovers John and Nita Smith who live in Ramsgate.
