By Buziwe Nocuze
- Amanda Manentsa was killed by a single bullet while waiting inside her locked car, parked near broken surveillance cameras.
- The 41-year-old mother leaves behind three girls, including her 17-year-old daughter who had just celebrated her birthday.
The family of Amanda Manentsa, who was gunned down on Cape Town’s R300 freeway, says she might still be alive if the road’s surveillance cameras were working.
Amanda, a 41-year-old sales rep for a company under South African Breweries, had just finished her last work stop in Delft when her tyre burst on the R300 on the evening of 26 July.
“She told her colleague at 20:15 that she had a tyre burst,” said family member Vathiswa Manentsa. “He told her he was on his way to help.”
When the colleague arrived, he found Amanda’s work vehicle locked, with a bullet hole in the driver’s side window. He immediately contacted the police and paramedics.
“The 10111 operator told him to go report it at the Delft police station. When he came back with SAPS, she had already died,” said Manentsa.
Amanda was shot once in the neck. The family says she had parked in front of surveillance cameras and stayed in her vehicle for safety, unaware that the cameras were not working.
“She was in a bulletproof vehicle, waiting inside with the doors locked,” said Manentsa. “She trusted those cameras would protect her. But they were just useless poles.”
The family believes criminals know the cameras are out of order and use the blind spots to strike.
“They wouldn’t take the risk if they thought someone was watching. These cameras are there to give false hope to motorists,” said Manentsa. “If they were working, the control room would’ve seen a woman stuck on a dangerous road.”
Amanda leaves behind her 17-year-old daughter, who had just celebrated her birthday two days before her mother’s death, and two other girls she was raising under legal guardianship.
“She was more than a mother to one child. She cared for everyone. We are heartbroken,” said Manentsa. “We just want those responsible to be caught.”
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said police are investigating the murder. No suspects have been arrested.
“Officers found the victim with a gunshot wound to the neck. No personal belongings were taken. The suspects fled the scene,” said Twigg.
Pictured above: Amanda Manentsa was shot dead after her tyre burst.
Image source: Supplied
