Family member demands South Africa repatriate body of murdered sibling

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A Lagos-based businessman, Onyema Ekpenyong, tells BIODUN BUSARI about the death of his brother, Andrew, and how his body was found in a South African mortuary after policemen searched his home in South Africa

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Where are you from?

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I’m a Lagos-based businessman from Akwa Ibom State. I’m married with two kids.

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What is your relationship with the Nigerian man who died in South Africa?

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The deceased was my elder brother. His name was Andrew Ekpenyong. He relocated to South Africa in 2007. He would have been in South Africa for 20 years by 2027. But his life was cut short in an unfortunate situation.

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What was he doing before he left Nigeria?

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He was a mechanic. He lived in Abuja, practising his trade. He left Abuja when Nasir El-Rufai was the Federal Capital Territory minister and began demolishing certain structures. My brother’s workshop was affected by the demolition. He moved to the North, staying there for a while before relocating to Lagos. He then migrated to South Africa in 2007.

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What do you know about him when he was in South Africa?

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He continued his work as a mechanic. After establishing himself, he got married to a foreigner in South Africa. I can’t recall if she was Tanzanian or Zimbabwean.

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Did he have more than one wife?

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He didn’t tell us that he had more than one wife, but he might have other children outside marriage. It was his legal wife who gave birth to two kids for him.

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Didn’t any member of the family in Nigeria attend his wedding in South Africa?

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Nobody went to South Africa to witness the wedding. He just informed us about the wedding, and we were happy for him.

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How did you receive the news of your brother’s death?

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Some people in the Nigerian community in South Africa reached out to me. So, when they sent me the message about my brother’s death, I was devastated. They said they discovered his lifeless body in a morgue a day after the police came to his house.

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Did the police arrest him when they came to his residence?

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It was on a Sunday evening. He was in his house when a phone call came in. He answered the phone and went out, but never returned. Later that night, policemen came to search his house, but they didn’t find anything incriminating. They left without taking anything, but my brother did not return home.

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It was the next morning, Monday, that his people went to the police station to lodge complaints, only for the police to direct them to a government-owned mortuary where they saw his corpse.

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They didn’t believe what they saw, and the next question everyone asked was, ‘How did they know he was in the morgue?’ They said the police claimed he was jogging, fell down, and died, so they took him to the mortuary.

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Who did the police meet when they came to search his house?

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They met his girlfriend and his apprentice. They were both South Africans who were in the house with him when he received the call and when the police came. Although the apprentice said he was upstairs when the police came, his girlfriend, who was downstairs, denied opening the door for the police. She said the police opened the door by themselves.

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She said my brother’s phone was not reachable when she called after the police visit. Another strange thing was that when my brother received the call, he drove out, but his car was in his compound the next morning. The whole thing was suspicious. It was not clear to me. But the people said they saw traces of handcuffs on his wrists and wounds on his body. He was beaten to death.

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Did you speak with both of them?

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Yes. I spoke with the lady and the apprentice. When I was speaking with them, they said they didn’t know if the police came with a search warrant. The apprentice said it was the lady who was watching television with my brother downstairs. They were just saying all manner of things.

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What did they do after the police left?

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The police called the lady again. They asked her to bring my brother’s passport to the gate. The lady took the passport to them at the gate and went back. She couldn’t ask them questions. I asked them a series of questions, but their answers were filled with suspicion.

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Did the police tell the lady why they searched your brother’s house?

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That is what I don’t know. I don’t think they told her anything. I have been asking questions surrounding his death, but I can’t get answers. I’m trying to figure out a lot of things myself. I’m not in South Africa.

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I don’t understand when you said his girlfriend was in the house. What about his wife and children?

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His wife and kids were not living with him.

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Did he tell you the reason they were not together?

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No, he didn’t mention that to me. Nobody in our family said anything about that.

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Have you spoken to his wife and children?

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Yes. I spoke with them, but didn’t discuss whether they were living together. The last time I spoke with his wife, she used her daughter’s phone number to call me.

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Have they released his corpse?

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They have not released his body. It was in a private mortuary. The Nigerian who was in charge of their community told me that it was not their tradition to leave corpses in government mortuaries for so long. So, they moved his body from the government mortuary to a private mortuary.

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Have you received any information on whether anyone was arrested over his death?

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Not yet. Nobody has been arrested. That is what I have been asking them. They are just telling me that the government is on it. That was the last answer they gave me; they said the government was on it.

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If the corpse is released, will you bring it to Nigeria or allow it to be buried in South Africa?

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Honestly, I don’t know either. My brother left Nigeria close to 20 years ago. He had not returned to Nigeria since he left for South Africa. My mum is still alive by the special grace of God. She’s been crying every day since we got the sad news.

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She said she wanted to see his corpse. Last Mother’s Day, he called my mum and promised to come back to Nigeria in December. So, what I am begging them in South Africa now is if there is any way they can help bring the corpse back to Nigeria so that we can bury our brother.

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Did your brother have any dispute with any South African before his death?

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No. Since he went to South Africa, we never heard, even for one day, that he fought anyone or was arrested by the police. Such things were not associated with him. He didn’t have a problem with anyone that I know of. Even when we called him, his phone would ring once, and he would answer.

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Do you know where his property is?

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I don’t know much about that. I’m not in South Africa to know about his property. The only thing he always mentioned to me was that he had cars. As a mechanic, he used to buy cars, repair them, and sell them. The last time I spoke with him, he told me that he had two cars he wanted to repair and sell. He said he wanted to come back in December this year. That was our last discussion.

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When was the last time you spoke with him before his death?

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We spoke at the time of Mothering Day in March, when he also spoke with my mother to wish her Happy Mother’s Day. All he promised was to come home in December. He said he wanted to sell his two cars and use the money to visit Nigeria after almost 20 years that he had left.

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What explanation did the South African police give concerning his death?

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They denied having involvement in his death. The conversations I had with the people in South Africa suggested that those police officers had a hand in his death. Many Nigerians have been treated badly by these law enforcement but it was unfortunate that my brother died the way he did.

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The police said they saw him jogging, then he fell and died. How could someone who received a phone call, went out and the police came to say they found him dead by the roadside after he fell. Meanwhile, these policemen came to search his house. I’m not even sure if they came with a search warrant.

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Apart from the injuries on his body, what other evidence do you have to prove that he was killed by the police?

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People who were there didn’t see any other thing except the wounds on his body. His wrists showed that he was handcuffed and beaten to death.

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Since his death, what steps have the Nigerian community or authorities taken to seek justice for him?

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The leaders of the Nigerian community issued a press statement demanding a comprehensive investigation into his death. They also demanded an autopsy. They have been seeking justice for him from day one. But, as you know, the South African authorities have not come up with any tangible results to help in the case. I just hope justice will be served.

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What kind of intervention or support is your family expecting from the Nigerian and South African governments?

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My family and I want the two governments to help us bring my brother’s killers to book. They should be arrested and prosecuted. Also, how his remains will be brought to Nigeria is very important. I will be very grateful and excited if the South African government can help in this regard.

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Do you think your brother’s death has anything to do with xenophobic attacks?

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Honestly, I can’t say. All I know is that Nigerians are facing xenophobic attacks in South Africa. It is a disturbing trend that the Nigerian government should look into.

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How do you intend to bring his children and wife back to Nigeria, or would you leave them in South Africa?

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The family has not decided on it. The most important thing is for my brother’s killers to be brought to book and his corpse to be brought to Nigeria.

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