A student has handed himself over to police following the death of community activist Jenny Neser in a hit-and-run accident.
|||A student has handed himself over to police following the death of community activist Jenny Neser in a hit-and-run accident.
Neser, who started Project Literacy and shielded people who were being sought by the apartheid police, died in hospital on Monday after being knocked down on Sunday evening while walking her dog in Brooklyn.
Family friend advocate Jacot Guillarmod said her dog was the hero who summoned help.
The agitated dog was spotted in the park at the corner of Nicholson and Pienaar streets. Being a “regular”, people in the park approached the dog which led them to Neser
When Neser was found, Guillarmod said, it was not clear what had happened. She was unconscious and had injuries to her head and ankle.
Her daughter Anita was called to the scene by police who found the number on Neser’s cellphone.
Another family friend, Dr Glenda Cleaver, said initially they thought she might have had a seizure and fallen in Clark Street.
Brooklyn police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Annabelle Middleton confirmed on Wednesday that a 22-year-old man had handed himself in to police.
She said he would be appearing in court soon on charges of culpable homicide and reckless, negligent driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
In a tribute, Cleaver wrote that Neser, née Stafford, had been described as an outstanding and exceptional South African who devoted her life to helping others.
Her friendship and discussions with black Christians had raised her awareness about how uncaring many white Christians were. This made her realise what a challenge being a Christian was going to be. She joined like-minded students in trying to persuade the government not to pass the Separation of Universities Bill. She was involved in student politics, the PFP, the Institute of Race Relations, Women for Peace and the Black Sash.
While at university, one of her many friends was the late Judge Fikile Bam. He and Neser enjoyed driving around Cape Town in Neser’s brother’s sports car. The police did not appreciate seeing a white girl and a black man together and Jenny and Judge Bam found this amusing.
In 1961 she married Dan Neser, who was to become a well-known Pretoria advocate, and they had four children. Jenny and Dan ran a household where everyone was welcome. Everyone knew that if they needed help, they could come to the Neser house in Heloma Avenue.
She was a leading light in the Christian Institute started by Beyers Naudé. Like Naudé, she wanted everyone to be treated equally and she wanted people to talk about race relations and the meaning of prejudice.
In 1973 she started a literacy programme, later known as Project Literacy, at the St Francis Anglican Church in Waterkloof. The purpose of the school was to improve the lives of domestic workers in the area.
Neser often shielded people being sought by the apartheid police.
A funeral service will be held on Friday at 4pm at the St Francis of Assisi Anglican Church, cnr Long and Albert streets.
Pretoria News