Eddie Boaventura in his uniform. Murdered traffic official Superintendent Eddie Boaventura. PIcture: Supplied
Durban - A senior traffic officer in KwaDukuza Municipality’s traffic and crime prevention unit who was murdered on Friday while on duty, has been described as a straight arrow who was dedicated to law enforcement.
Superintendent Eddie Boaventura was shot several times during the early hours on Friday and succumbed to multiple gunshot injuries.
He was shot by gunmen while he was on duty along the N2 northbound, and died while he was still receiving medical attention after he was airlifted to a hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
According to his ex-wife and friend Wendy June Westcott, he had just finished his shift and was on his way to buy a gift for his wife who was celebrating her birthday.
“My children are broken, and the whole family is shattered. Eddie was 11 months away from retirement after 40 years of service. He was finally going to meet his granddaughter in person.”
He leaves behind his wife, a son, a daughter, a 5-month-old granddaughter, two younger brothers, and his 85-year-old mother.
Westcott described Boaventura as a straight arrow who had no grey areas.
“It was either black or white with Eddie,” she said.
She said they had met when she was 18, when he had just finished his military training.
They were married for 22 years and had two children.
She said he had always loved the law and that, even when he had branched out to do teaching, he had only been able to do it for a couple of months before he decided he couldn’t be “stuck” in a classroom for the rest of his life.
“He went back to law enforcement and worked during the Soweto uprising. He was trying to prevent the burning of a school.
“He called me from the school, and I could hear the screams from the riots. He told me he loved me and the phone dropped and I assumed the worst, but he was okay.”
The Ballito-born officer worked in the traffic department in Johannesburg before returning home, where he spent the rest of his career.
“He was a tough guy, but one of the things that used to affect him the most was attending accident scenes involving children. He used to come home and sob for the children.”
She said there wasn’t a single New Year’s Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day that he wasn’t out patrolling the community.
Boaventura’s son lives in Canada with his wife and daughter, and the family have started a GoFundMe campaign to get him to South Africa in time for the funeral.
Westcott said Boaventura had been planning to see his granddaughter in March next year.
“They had done video calls, but he was looking forward to holding her for the first time.”
KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca condemned the killing of the senior traffic official.
“We have lost a veteran of note who was well known for his commitment to duty.”
Boaventura had served the KwaDukuza community for at least 30 years.
Nhaca said: “We are calling on all law-enforcement agencies to work as a collective to ensure that those behind the killing of Boaventura face the full might of the law.”
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