“My Name Was Leighandre ‘Baby Lee’ Jegels”
East London, Eastern Cape August 30 2019
I remember the bright hot day, traffic moving slow. The way every car’s engine felt too loud. The way hope felt fragile in that moment.
I was riding with my mother, heading to a gym session in Mdantsane. We were in our white Golf, windows down just a little, the day stretching ahead with promise. I felt safe, trusting that we would arrive and train, and I would keep fighting, in the ring, in life.
Then I saw a car behind us, tailing us too closely. My heart skipped. The driver tried to pass. I saw the face. I recognised him.
Before I could react, he was in front of us. Guns were out. We swerved. The Mercedes-Benz that followed got stuck in traffic. The man got out. He walked calmly toward us, gun in hand.
My mother paused. I saw the fear in her eyes. I opened my mouth to shout, to push, to do whatever I could. He fired three shots at me. I felt the explosion in my chest, and then another in my mouth. Then everything blurred.
All around me were cars, people, panic. My mother cried out. Her pain mingled with mine. But I was fading.
I don’t remember much after that except the unbearable stillness and the smell of violence against a woman, against me.
I was only 25. I had dreams. I had already conquered so many odds. I was champion in boxing and karate. I wanted to be a jewel in this country’s history.
No court has yet written all my truth. They say my partner, a police officer I once loved, confessed. They say there was a protection order. They say he crashed his car later and died in hospital.
But what they won’t say is how I died behind the wheel, while beside my mother, trusting the man I once knew.
My name was Leighandre Baby Lee Jegels
Fight to keep my memory alive, just like I fought on the world stage to make South Africa proud. I was a boxer, but first of all, I was a woman.
Remember me.
Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels was a promising South African boxing and karate champion whose life ended tragically. She was 25 years old when she was fatally shot on 30 August 2019, while travelling with her mother to a boxing practice in the Eastern Cape.
Her alleged attacker was her ex-boyfriend, a serving police officer, who first chased their vehicle and then opened fire, fatally wounding Baby Lee and injuring her mother. In a further tragic twist, the accused officer died a few days later in a high-speed crash while evading capture.
Baby Lee’s death shocked the boxing community and raised urgent questions about gender-based violence, the adequacy of protection for victims, and how abusive relationships can end in fatal outcomes even for someone with a promising athletic future.
If you like, I can check for the latest developments around her case (investigations, memorials, etc.).
