Candice Van der Rheede will at the age of 50 begin her University journey
Image: Tracy-Lynn Ruiters
At 50, Candice Van der Rheede is not slowing down, she is stepping into what she believes is her true purpose.
The head of the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit is set to begin her LLB studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA), with a clear vision: to become a magistrate who actively challenges injustice and corrects the inequalities embedded within the justice system, while continuing to educate and empower her family and the broader community.
Van der Rheede’s journey back to education began after she was forced to leave school more than 30 years ago due to unforeseen circumstances and personal challenges. In 2024, she completed her matric through night school, a milestone she once thought would never be possible.
In 2025, she made what she jokingly refers to as a “mad” decision: despite having passed, she chose to improve her marks because she did not feel they reflected her full potential.
“My husband, my family and my team supported me completely,” she said.
That decision resulted in a Bachelor’s pass, allowing her to apply for an LLB, a qualification she says aligns perfectly with her life’s work.
“Soon my name will have a degree behind it,” Van der Rheede said. “You will have to call me Advocate — and later, Magistrate.”
Candice Van der Rheede
Image: Tracy-Lynn Ruiters
Her determination, she believes, was shaped by a near-death experience in 2020, when she was critically ill and hospitalised.
“I actually think I died,” she said. “The epidural failed and I conked out from the pain. I remember walking towards my deceased family. My uncle told me to turn around. While walking back, I could hear whispers. Someone later said those whispers were prayers.”
She said her family had begun preparing for the worst.
“They were planning my funeral. I felt like this was it. I later had water on my lungs and heart failure, they call my heart a boot-shaped heart. But God knew it wasn’t my time. My fight is far from over.”
Now 50, Van der Rheede expects to complete her law degree by the age of 55.
“Now that I am sitting here, I realise why I had to turn back,” she said. “I have a bigger purpose. People will say I will be so old when I’m done, but this is not only for me. It’s for every person who believed in me, my family, my team, every family who came to me for help.”
She believes her legal training will strengthen the work she has already been doing on the ground.
“Now we will be equipped and armed with rights that are understood. Now we can really fight for justice.”
A mother of four and grandmother of six, Van der Rheede said she may retire at 65, but by then she is certain her impact will already be felt.
“I know I would have made a difference.”
She added that she has already received offers to complete her internship and articles at law firms something she sees as further confirmation that she is on the right path.
“Again, this is proof that this is God’s plan. I am excited and ready,” she said. “I want every person who feels there is a bigger vision they want to fulfil to take my story as a reason to believe you can.”
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za
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