Henriëtte Geldenhuys And Phindile Chauke
25 June 2006
Johannesburg — TWO prominent Gauteng families spoke of their pain after crime this week changed their lives forever.
Bart Dorrestein is devastated after his son, Bart jnr, was shot dead during a botched hijacking on Wednesday night while reversing out of his girlfriend's driveway in Glenadrienne, Sandton.
And north of Pretoria, a defence force major-general, his wife and his driver managed to escape with their lives after six armed men held them up outside their home.
Speaking from his home on Friday, Dorrestein told Metro of his devastation.
"I had a son who I loved. He was my only son," said the anguished father-of-four, the chief executive of the Legacy Group, which built the Michelangelo Towers in Sandton.
"My son was a wonderful, caring, energetic young man," he said of Bart jnr, a talented swimmer and a junior national water polo team member.
Dorrestein's 26-year-old son, who worked as a project manager in his father's business, left his girlfriend's parents' home at 10.30pm when the hijackers struck.
He was shot in the chest but managed to drive to a garage on William Nichol Drive where an ambulance was called.
He later died at the Sandton Medi-clinic.
Now Dorrestein is left wondering why his son had to die.
"People like my son could have been used to help build the future. My son had lots of energy -- he could have achieved a lot," he said.
And the father has no hatred for those who took his son's life. He wasn't angry with the killer but angry he lost someone he loved so much.
"My son has just become a casualty of a system that needs to urgently look at how to help those who are not able to participate in our society because they can't get jobs," Dorrestein said.
"I'm angry about one thing. I've lost my son.
"I don't hate the man who murdered my son. I'm just heartbroken about what happened."
Meanwhile, north of Pretoria, Major-General Makabongwe Ntsinga, his wife and driver escaped with their lives after six armed men held them up outside their home.
Ntsinga, the chief of joint military training, had just returned from a trip to the UK when he, his wife, Grace, and driver Andries Zitha were held up last Friday.
Ntsinga, who normally carries a gun, was unarmed at the time.
The armed gang made off with his luggage, identity documents, an unspecified amount of foreign currency and a new tie he received as a Father's Day gift from his children.
His wife's luggage and jewellery were also stolen.
Grace Ntsinga said the robbers followed their car with their headlights switched off.
"Immediately when our car came to a standstill, my husband got out to open the gate and Zitha followed him to help. I suddenly heard a loud bang," she said.
"The next thing Zitha fell into the car -- he had been hit in the face with the pistol and one of his eyes was bleeding profusely."
The robbers then ordered her out of the car, demanded money and started searching their bags.
"They found dollars and asked what sort of money it was," she said. "They were six aggressive men ... very aggressive to my husband and Zitha. I was so worried about Zitha's injuries.
"They took everything that was in our car, including a small dish I had been eating out of on the way back home and my Bibles.
"They took our car keys before ordering us back into the car after which they took off," she said.
Pretoria police spokesman Inspector Paul Ramaloko said a case of armed robbery and attempted murder had been opened and no arrests had yet been made.
Joburg police, meanwhile, are investigating Dorrestein's murder.
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