Promising sea cadet and dancer’s life tragically cut short
Friends and family are struggling to come to terms with the untimely death of 20-year-old Ruben Jansen, a gifted breakdancer and a promising member of the Lakeside-based Sea Cadet Corps, who was shot and killed in Eerste River, at the weekend.
“Ruben attacked every challenge with a smile,” said Lieutenant (SCC) Gaylene Jacobs, Commanding Officer of TS Woltemade South African Sea Cadets and his class instructor when he first joined the cadet programme in January 2018.
His basic training included boating, rope work, parade work, leadership, communication, first aid, and life skills.
Following matric, Ruben went on to become an adult officer in the Sea Cadet Corps, an international non-profit organisation with 11 bases around South Africa.
He also served at TS Birkenhead in 2022 as an officer and returned again to TS Woltemade in 2023 as an adult instructor and had attained the rank of Midshipman.
Lieutenant Jacobs said he had lived up to the TS Woltemade motto: “Blood, sweat and tears” and would often come to her and say: “Ma’am, today I bled, I sweated, and I cried, but I promise I am not quitting and I will be back next week.”
“Ruben was one of the smallest children in his class. Our programme is physically very intense and even though he suffered from a skin condition Ruben never allowed this to interfere with his goal. Ruben stood out because even though so many kids dropped out along the way,” Lieutenant Jacobs said.
She said Ruben joined the unit in Lakeside as a new recruit in 2018 and completed his Basic Seamanship within 12 months, followed by a further six months to attain his cadet Able Seaman Rank. When Ruben exited the programme as a cadet he had attained the rank of cadet Leading Seaman.
“He always showed respect to his seniors and had a good camaraderie with his peers. His dress and bearing, as well as his manner in dealing with others was exemplary,” Lieutenant Jacobs said.
“He went the extra mile by being a part of the precision drill display team as well as the cannon crew team, which required many extra hours of training,” she said.
When not busy with maritime activities, young Ruben was a master of body movement and had established himself as a rising star in breakdancing circles across the city, country and the globe.
A regular at various competitions, Ruben, along with Ocean View’s Lakeisha Dick, aka B-Girl Keisha, won their respective divisions at the Solo Pro breakdance championships at the V&A Waterfront in May.
“Ruben, in my opinion, was one of the best of his current generation, no doubt. A well-rounded dancer who had everything a top dancer needs. He had all the qualities,” said Dimitri Nel aka BBoy Meaty, one of the city's top BBoys.
“Knowing his father Xavier, who was also a breakdancer, I guess it was kind of inevitable for Ruben to pick up moves and try it. It got to a point where he could start training on his own and develop his own breaking vocabulary,” said Brandon Peterson aka BBoy The Curse, who had known Ruben from when he first started breakdancing.
“He had so much to live for, so much to give, he was going to be an ambassador, he was going to Germany, in October, as an ambassador for the South African Body of Dance (SABOD),” said his mother, Jessica Jansen.
Long-time family friend, Deon Daniels aka DJ Ready D, said he’s known Ruben all his life. “He practically grew up in front of us. We’ve managed to witness his journey, we regarded him as part of our family. We noticed his interest in breaking at a very young age and we’re just glad that he managed to travel the country and the world doing what he loved.”
The police are still investigating the motive for the shooting in which two more people were wounded.
