Four years ago their son was brought home dead in a police van. They want answers.

Sally and George van Rooyen say they found bruises on the body of their son, Georgio, after police brought him home, dead. They have never been given an explanation. Photo: Marecia Damons.

• Nearly four years after Georgio van Rooyen died, his family say they still don’t know how or why he died.
• His parents say they found bruises on his body after police brought him home, but they have never been given an explanation about what may have happened.
• His death certificate lists the cause of death as “under investigation”, and the family say they’ve received almost no updates from police.
• SAPS says the case was transferred to the Cape Winelands District detectives and the investigation is ongoing.

It is nearly four years since George and Sally van Rooyen’s 41-year-old son, Georgio, was brought home dead in the back of a police van. His parents say they are still waiting for answers about what happened that night.

“We don’t understand how they’re investigating this case because they haven’t given us any updates,” said Sally.

Sally, 66, and George, 65, are both former farmworkers and have lived on Plaisir Wine Estate for more than 30 years. They live with their two daughters and three grandchildren. The family depends on their older persons’ and child support grants. Georgio, their eldest child, was unemployed and received a disability grant.

According to the family, Georgio left home at about 4pm on Sunday, 4 September 2022. He got a lift with his cousin to a nearby informal settlement to have drinks at a tavern. His cousin returned about an hour later without him.

The following morning, just after 3am, the family were woken up by a neighbour saying the police were outside.

“I assumed they came to drop him off because he probably got up to mischief,” says George.

When he went outside to speak to the officers, he said they asked him to climb into the van and wake his son.

“I shook him and tapped his face and arms,” says George. He called to him by his nickname, ‘Joha! Joha!’

“I climbed out and told the officers he wasn’t responding. He was dead.”

George asked the officers to carry Georgio inside, but he says they refused, saying they couldn’t touch the body. He and a neighbour then carried Georgio to the kitchen.

“He was soaking wet and full of sand,” says George. They covered his body with a blanket.

Family friend and neighbour, Martha Visagie, arrived shortly after. She says “there was drain water in his ears”.

“It looked like he’d been lying in a ditch.”

“When I lifted the blanket, I saw his head was full of bruises. His forearms were purple and swollen,” Visagie said.

“I told George to take his feet while I grabbed his upper body to turn him over,” Visagie said. “I could see the bruises over his shoulder blades.”

Unable to accept that her son had died, Sally fetched Georgio a warm set of pyjamas.

“She didn’t want to believe that he was dead as he lay there,” says George. “Martha and I had to dress him. To her [Sally], he was lying there getting cold. I knew we weren’t allowed to touch him, but she didn’t want to believe he was dead. Two of his younger cousins came to check his pulse and told her he was dead, but she still didn’t want to believe it.”

Forensic investigators arrived after 6am to examine the scene and remove Georgio’s body. He was buried about two weeks later, after forensic examinations.

The police referred GroundUp to the health department for the autopsy report. The health department referred us back to the police.

“They took so long to work on my child, only for them to still not have any answers for us,” Sally said.

George said police officers told them his son had been found at a property further up the mountain, after the homeowner allegedly called private security because he was “making a noise outside the yard”.

“If he walked, he wouldn’t walk past his own home,” Sally said.

Police silent

The Van Rooyens said they repeatedly followed up at the Groot Drakenstein police station, where the case was opened, but received little information. Investigating officers have changed more than once, and the death certificate still records his cause of death as “under investigation”.

“We just want the case to proceed, and the perpetrators must be punished. In September it’s going to be four years,” Sally said.

GroundUp asked SAPS for the status of the investigation, the circumstances surrounding Van Rooyen’s death, whether any suspects had been identified or arrests made, and the reason for the length of the investigation.

SAPS media liaison officer, constable Ndakhe Gwala, said the case “remains under investigation” and that a new investigating officer “is pursuing all available leads and investigative avenues”.

She said the docket was transferred to Cape Winelands District Detectives in Stellenbosch on 28 February 2026, and that updates would be provided when available.

Asked why the docket had been transferred, SAPS spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said it had been transferred to the Cape Winelands District Detectives’ PC Backlog Unit in Stellenbosch for further investigation.

The Van Rooyens said they were unaware the case had been transferred. “Groot Drakenstein and the justice system have let us down,” Sally said.

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