Shireena Birch’s family speaks out: 'We are broken' after her tragic murder
Shireena (left), her mother and her sister.
Image: Supplied
Emotions ran high on Wednesday as the family of Shireena Birch opened up about their grief and anger following her alleged murder by her husband, Riedewaan Birch.
In an exclusive interview with the Cape Argus sister publication, Daily Voice, they expressed their devastation after Riedewaan's brief appearance at the Bishop Lavis Magistrates Court, where he faces murder charges for allegedly stabbing Shireena to death at their home on February 3.
The court was expected to deal with his formal bail application, but due to the investigating officer being sick, the case was postponed to February 18.
The accused faces charges of murder after he allegedly stabbed his wife to death at their home in Assegaai Avenue, Bonteheuwel, on February 3.
Shireena’s sister said: “We are broken as a family. She didn’t deserve to be taken like that. We accept her death as death is inevitable to anyone, but not in the way that she was taken.
“Even if his bail is denied and sentenced, it will be little comfort for us.”
She explained that when the incident occurred, she was at home and that one of the neighbours around the corner from Shireena notified her about what happened. She immediately rushed to fetch her mother and went to the scene.
Shireena, a community worker, was one of four siblings, a mother and grandmother, but also a caregiver for one of her two grandsons, who was sadly present when the incident occurred.
Shireena’s youngest son said that he was speechless, as his father is facing charges for his mother’s murder; he had also lost his brother in 2020.
He said: “I feel pain and hatred all at once.”
However, they said that this was not the first incident of gender based violence.
Shireena and her two sons in their younger years.
Image: Supplied
Her mother explains: “I believe he hit her a few times, but she never came to complain or cry to us that he was fighting with her.
“For our whole family that is so tight-knit, this wasn’t a death that we could have prepared for; things happened so suddenly and in such an evil, cruel way.
“On one evening when it was raining so hard, I said to my husband, ‘Shame my child is getting cold, her life is gone.’”
They further appealed to authorities and the government to take gender-based violence more seriously.
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