A Steenberg mother has a strong message to families of children recruited into gangs, to not give up on their sons.
Carmen Jenkins lost her son Waylin Liam Dietrich on Friday 26 November last year.
On Saturday 5 March she told Lavender Hill youth how her son was allegedly recruited into the Junky Funky gang at the age of 15.
“Waylin was 20-years-old when he passed on. Waylin was affiliated with the JFK gangsters; he was one of the main gunmen. I don’t hide it. I never hid anything that my son did.”
Jenkins said her son was 15-years-old when he started High School at Steenberg High. That same year she learned that the local gang allegedly bullied her son into joining the it. She says she received a call from school one day to inform her that Waylin was vomiting.
“That is when I discovered that Waylin wanted to take his own life at the age of 15. I took Waylin to hospital and the doctor said to me I should call my family. They said to me the number of tablets that he took, that he is not going to make it. One hospital to another, then to another, at the last hospital Waylin was lying on the bed. His words to me were; ‘Mommy, I will take my own life rather than to take the life of another person.’
Two weeks later Waylin returned home which is when Jenkins learned what actually happened at school.
“I asked him what happened. He said: the Funkies (gang) has been bullying him for the whole year and on that specific day they gave him a firearm and said he has to go out and kill a person.
“He didn’t have the heart to do it. He decided that he is going to take his own life rather than take the life of another person.”
In July 2017, the distraught mother discovered that her son had joined the gang. “I said to him, you know how I feel about gangs. Gangsters are not allowed in my house. That was the first mistake I made in my life and that is the day I put my child out of my house.
“I said to him, the day he decides to change his life is the day he can come back home.”
A few months later Jenkins says she was on her way to church when she saw a beautiful new Polo parked across the street.
“Waylin came out, he was wearing new jeans, the best Nike takkies. He laughed and said: ‘mommy it is mine.’
“I told him by the time I get out of church he better be gone because I knew that it did not belong to him. I came out of church, five minutes later and the police stopped and said they were looking for the ID or birth certificate of Waylin. They took me to Muizenberg Police Station and as I entered, Waylin said I should not hand it over to police.
“Waylin gave a fake name, I discovered that my child was found in possession of a hijacked vehicle. I was shocked. The next day attempted murder was added to his case.”
Jenkins said weeks later she thought the case was slow and going nowhere when their newly appointed legal aid lawyer said that Waylin had a new advocate to represent him.
“The next week I discovered the leader of the funkies appointed an advocate and the same day that case was dismissed. We came home, a white car stopped outside, I will never forget it.
“It was all the leaders of the Funkies. They came and fetched my child and gave him a champagne party for what he stood alone for in court. And that is where things escalated.”
The traumatised mom said she feared that her child would be killing other people or be killed himself.
“When gunshots went off, I was the mother that said Lord I hope that is not my child killing another child out there. I also hoped that it was not him being shot. I lived the life that I don’t wish on any mother.”
Jenkins says by the end of 2020 her son discovered that he was going to be a father.
“He spoke to the gang leaders and said to them he did not want to be part of them anymore because he is going to be a father. They did not take note of him because he was one of the main gunmen out there.
“If you passed Waylin, you would never say that child was a gunman.”
She says the whole of last year Waylin tried to change his life around.
“He went to this centre and that counsellor, his bags were packed. He wanted to change. But it’s like the system failed him so much, that he gave up on life.”
On 26 November 2021 is the day that Waylin died.
“Around 18:50 he came to fetch a bottle of Jack Daniels because he gave his buddies a party. At 19:10 we heard a commotion outside; I sent my daughter outside to see what’s happening.”
Someone was allegedly trying to stab Waylin. “At the time Waylin came inside and said he was stabbed in the shoulder, I saw nothing and he was shouting of pain and saying that his body was burning.
“He went out and came back at 19:30 and said that he is going to take a bath because he is burning too much.
“Something that I will never forget, he called my name and then I heard like vomiting and choking sounds, I sent his sister to look at the bathroom window. I thought maybe he is suicidal. I went to the bathroom and as I opened the handle the door opened. We found Waylin in a sitting position on the floor, lifeless, no pulse. For me as a mother who was always thinking that my child was going to be shot or murdered by a gang.”
Waylin was declared dead at the scene.
“The people that he was sitting with, the people that he called his best buddies were the people who poisoned him. The one person admitted he stabbed my child in the shoulder, in a main vein which led to internal bleeding. Up till today, no investigation, no statement.
“I accept it because I don’t know the number of kids my child murdered outside. I don’t know the number of mothers who hate me for what my child did, I don’t know, that’s why I always say. If my child hurt anyone, I want to apologise as his mother, these gangsters put so much on you.”
Her message to all the young people out there, is to not let it ever happen to you.
“When my son did not want to be a gangster anymore, they said to him; ‘We won’t kill you but you will take your own life’.
“Waylin left a four-month-old baby, a child that he always wanted, a child that will never know her father. An innocent child. Don’t let it happen to anyone of you. You have your whole life ahead of you, make the best of it.”
