- Stellenbosch FC football captain Oshwin Andries died in his mother’s arms last weekend.
- Police have not arrested anyone in connection with his murder.
- the soccHis star will be buried next weekend.
”[If] you take a life, then you must be punished for taking that life. He should get life in prison for killing my son.”
As the pain of losing her son runs deep, Natasha Andries says there must be no mercy for the person who killed her son, Oshwin.
The Stellenbosch FC football player affectionately known as “Ossie” was stabbed multiple times in a local tavern in the Mandela City informal settlement of Klapmuts two weeks ago, allegedly after an altercation.
He was injured in the head and lower back.
Last weekend she complained of excruciating pain and as they drove to a hospital in Paarl, she breathed her last in her mother’s arms.
Oshwin Andries died last weekend in her mother’s arms on her way to the hospital.
When News24 visited his grieving family at the Klapmuts place that Oshwin called home for most of his life, there were flowers and sympathy cards next to his many football trophies.
“I held him close to my chest while we prayed. I told him to hold on, we’re almost at the hospital,” Andries said through tears.
She remembered:
He was so close to my body that I could feel his heart beating so fast as he grabbed my arm. But when we got to the hospital, he released my arm and her body went rigid. I only knew that he was gone.
The heartbroken mother said hospital staff removed her body from the car.
Oshwin had initially been taken to a Stellenbosch hospital shortly after midnight on Sunday, January 29. He was released five hours after his wounds were treated and bandaged.
He spent the week going back and forth between his mother’s and his girlfriend’s houses, during which time he complained of pain.
“We took him to a local private doctor on Saturday last week. The doctor then gave him stronger tablets and cleaned his wounds, but he was still in pain the afternoon when he was at his girlfriend’s house. Then I hurried and we made the decision to take him to a hospital in Paarl, but he died before the doctors could see him,” he said.
Ruché was with Oshwin the night he was stabbed.
According to the family, they know the Oshwin shooter.
“His family has been making all kinds of stories about what happened to Oshwin. They even told me that they fear for his life because people are threatening them. If so, why are they still here in the area? Didn’t they leave? Not once did anyone from the family come by to apologize or send their condolences,” Andries added.
Her week ended on Friday with the daunting task of having to see her son’s body at the local morgue.
“My heart hurts so much. When I saw him lying there, he looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping. I just wanted to wake him up and tell him I had to come home. I never thought I would have to say goodbye to my son.” so early in his life,” Andries said.
She added that she had to be strong for her other two children.
Natasha Andries and her two children, Tashwin and Lee-Irwin.
Oshwin’s girlfriend, Ruché van Rooyen, who was with him the night he was killed, alleged that the suspect accidentally stumbled upon her when he was looking for a bank card from a friend who was with the couple at the tavern.
“Oshwin jokingly asked him why he bumped into me, but the man took it seriously and then they got into an argument. He left and came back with a knife and began stabbing several people in the tavern before reaching Oshwin. After stabbing people, the man just left and we haven’t seen him again,” Van Rooyen said.
The family is in the process of opening a case with the police.
READ | ‘His whole family was there’: Saddened Stellies’ coach opens up about Oshwin Andries’ death
“The police have gone to take a statement from other relatives… I’m waiting for them to come to take my statement, but I’ll open a case this week, that’s for sure,” Andries added.
Oshwin’s brother, Lee-Irwin, shook his head in disbelief, saying it was hard to believe they were saying a final goodbye to Oshwin.
“I still lie awake in the living room waiting for my brother to yell at me to open the door for him when he comes back from practice or after a night out with friends,” he said.
Lee-Irwan said there are nights when she still waits for her brother to knock on the door after being out late at night.
“It feels weird that he’s never coming back. I’ll never hear him knocking on that door again. I still feel like I’m waiting for that knock, that now I know it will never come back.”
According to the family, Oshwin dreamed of one day playing in Europe and was working hard to achieve his goals.
The family, all sports fans, added that watching a football game without Oshwin would never be the same.
“It was always me and my guys at every game Oshwin played. And if he couldn’t go because of work, then his brothers would support him and I’d find out about the whole game when they got home. I’m going to miss that so much. Oshwin put smiles on all our faces. He was really talented and we miss him so much already,” Andries added.
On Saturday, his team will hold a memorial service in his memory at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium, where hundreds of “Oshwin fans” are expected to gather.
He will be buried in Stellenbosch, where he spent most of his childhood and where he began his football career.
Western Cape spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said police were investigating the matter and there was no further development.
“An investigation file has currently been opened and is being investigated. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death,” he added.
