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EXCLUSIVE: Families of coffin assault duo had to sell their possessions to survive 

The 5-year-old daughter of the one of the men who forced Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin was so angry with her father, she told people he was dead.

The wives of Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen broke their silence on the eve of their husbands’ sentencing on Friday.

After their husbands were arrested and convicted of assault, kidnapping, intimidation and attempted murder, Chane Oosthuizen and Rianie Jackson have been struggling to get by.

The Oosthuizens have been living off donations and selling fruit and vegetables to get by, while the Jacksons sold off all their possessions to feed their children.

The High Court sitting in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court will sentence the men on Friday. Both women have pleaded with the court for mercy. 

Speaking to News24 this week, Rianie, 28, said her husband should be punished fairly.

She and her husband have three daughters, aged 9, 6 and 5.

They have been together for 10 years. She said the case was a shock to her family.

“I have never thought that this type of thing would happen to us as a family. The hardest was watching my kids go through the trauma. All of them had a different reaction.”