Category: News

  A family of four, including a 9-year-old child, was brutally murdered between Wednesday 9 and Thursday, 10 March on a Randfontein farm in Rodora, Doornfontein, reports the Randfontein Herald, a local newspaper. According to Captain Appel Ernst, Randfontein Police spokesperson, the victims allegedly all sustained “blunt force trauma”. Ernst explained further the deceased’s family members included a 73-year-old man who allegedly was visiting South Africa after his family emigrated to the United Kingdom years back. The other victims were his son, 42, and the son’s 46-year-old fiancée as well as her 9-year-old daughter. Ernst said a family friend allegedly discovered the elderly man’s body after being asked to check on him following a concern from overseas family when he didn’t answer his phone. While police were conducting their investigation, they found his son’s fiancée in an incomplete building on the premises. They later also found the 9-year-old victim’s body in a shed. He was missing as well as the family’s Mercedes SUV. Through the help of a local security company, the vehicle was located in Greenhills. Later, an air search by the Air Wing unit flew above the farm when the elderly man’s son was found. Ernst said he was found at approximately 3pm on Friday, 11 March in a grove on the property. Randfontein station commander, Brigadier Mashole Jacob Manamela was on scene to convey his condolences to the family who had lost their dear loved ones. Ernst added the Randfontein Police are investigating multiple murder cases. She also calls on the community to provide any information they can regarding the murders.

Cape Town – Two days after she was brutally murdered, Franziska Blöchliger’s heartbroken father described seeing his child’s broken body. “I just got back from the mortuary. You wouldn’t believe what I saw,” Florian Blöchliger told News24 on Wednesday. “They hurt her so bad.” Blöchliger, from Switzerland, said she was beaten so badly, it looked as if her eyes couldn’t open. Franziska, 16, was murdered on Monday afternoon while out for a run with her mother, sister and their family’s dog. Blöchliger pleaded with the media and residents in Cape Town to find those responsible for his daughter’s killing, “because they cannot do this to another child”. Commenting on reports of calls from Franziska’s iPhone to him, Blöchliger said he had heard the sound of a child or baby crying in the background, “as if its toy had been taken from it”. He confirmed that the reward offered to find the perpetrators has been increased to R100 000 from R50 000. Three people between the ages of 22 and 27 were arrested on Tuesday night and will be appearing in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Blöchliger said his wife was devastated and was on medication. The family were also receiving counselling through the police. One ray of light for the family has been the support of locals in the Kirstenhof community. Hundreds of people gathered for a silent vigil on Tuesday evening near the spot where the teenager was killed. Bouquets and messages of condolences and support were left for Franziska’s loved ones.

Being the only saved member of your family can be hard. I have counselled and discipled many church members who have had struggles dealing with parents who have not yet accepted Jesus as their saviour and lord. Through the many times that people with unsaved family members have come to me for advice, I have never been one to get ahead of myself and tell them what they should do. As a minister and a leader in our congregation, my only responsibility is to tell my spiritual family what the Bible says. And I’ve heard people say, “But doesn’t the Bible tell me not to be yoked with unbelievers?” That’s when I realized that many sons and daughters of unsaved parents already know what the Bible says, but they just aren’t hearing it right. Here are some things that the Bible does NOT say about how we are to treat and respond to unsaved parents and family members. They are saved just because you’re saved Acts 16:31 declares “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household,” but this is in a cultural context where the values of the family are always accepted as the values of every individual in the household. Today, this is no longer the case. Many individuals place higher weight on individual values over family values, and to counter that, every one must hear the gospel. While it is more likely that your family will hear the gospel and then be saved, it will never happen unless they hear and believe the gospel. And here’s news flash: you have the gospel that they so desperately need and you can give it to them. Their being unsaved gives you a reason to disobey them The Bible doesn’t say, “Children obey your Christian parents” or “Honor your believing father and mother.” Ephesians 6:1-2 make it clear: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother.” Whether your parents are Christian or not, we are called to obey them. In fact, acting in disobedience toward parents just because they are non-believers could very well be a legitimate reason for them to never turn to Christ in faith. They are worse sinners than you The Bible makes it clear in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” You aren’t less of a sinner than your non-believing parents, but you do have God’s forgiving grace that has cleansed you of all unrighteousness.