Cape Town – A family in Belhar, Cape Town is grappling with unimaginable grief after 26-year-old Thamlyn "Tammy" Clarke was shot and killed in cold blood outside her home on Tuesday night. The tragedy comes just four months after the family suffered the loss of Tammy's father, who tragically took his own life.
Tammy, a beloved daughter, sister, and mother to a nine-year-old girl, was sitting in a car with her boyfriend, brother, and friends in De Waal Drive at around 8.50pm when the horrific incident occurred.
According to Tammy's heartbroken mother, Evelyn Clarke, a vehicle pulled up, and a passenger emerged, claiming to be lost. As Tammy rolled down the car window to assist, the man brandished a firearm and shot her multiple times. The assailant then returned to the vehicle, and the occupants fled the scene, taking Tammy's friend's phone with them.
Evelyn recounted the harrowing events, saying: "Tammy was sitting in front of the house inside the friend’s car playing music from her friend’s phone but her boyfriend, brother and their friends were standing outside the vehicle against the wall. Another car pulled up and the passenger got out and said he was lost. As she rolled down her window, this guy pulled out a gun and shot my daughter four times. He got back into the car and they drove off after taking the phone as well.”
But the family's pain is compounded by a disturbing detail: Tammy was due in court today for the final hearing of a rape case against an alleged notorious gangster, a case she had been pursuing for three years.
Evelyn believes that her daughter's murder was a targeted hit, directly linked to the rape case. "This was a hit on my daughter because she was shot in the neck. I am not sure where else she was also shot but I just saw the wound in the neck," she stated.
She further explained, “I was laying in bed when I heard the gunshots go off and it sounded like it was in my house. When I ran out, my son ran in and when I got outside the car was gone. Tammy was not someone who would walk around and she was a people’s person, so why would they kill her? I suspect it has something to do with the rape case.”
The devastated mother’s suspicions highlight the dangerous reality faced by victims of sexual violence in South Africa, who often risk their lives to seek justice.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed that Belhar police are investigating a murder.
Swartbooi stated: “Belhar detectives searched a crime scene in De Waal Drive for clues where a woman was shot and killed on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at about 20.50.”
“Information at our disposal suggests that unknown gunmen opened fire on a female, seated inside a motor vehicle, who was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. The unknown gunmen fled the scene in a White Toyota Etios and they are yet to be arrested. The motive for this murder is now the subject of an investigation by the South African Police Service.”
He urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application anonymously.
