Moyahabo Mabeba
The close-knit village of Phooko near Dennilton in Sekhukhune is reeling with shock following the gruesome discovery of the bodies of three children who went missing on 30 August.
Community members are now looking for a friend of 15-year-old Katlego Sibande who they suspect of murdering the three children and throwing them into the river.
When the Mgomane siblings, Nonjabulo aged nine and her younger brother Themba aged eight, as well as their neighbour Sibande, did not return from school, community members panicked.
Members of the community initially searched for the missing children in the nearby mountains.
On Tuesday, the bodies of all three children were found floating in the Mohlabetse river on the outskirts of the village.
They were discovered by herdsmen who alerted members of the community.
They were still wearing their school uniforms.
The untimely death of the two siblings has thrown the family into disarray as they can’t afford to bury them.
William Mgomane, the father of Nonjabulo and Themba says he has been unemployed for over three years.
“This is really a difficult moment in my life. I never imagined that this could happen to me. My children are dead and I can’t give them a decent burial. I don’t know the cause of their death and I can’t figure out what’s next. These were my only children with my wife. Now they are gone and never coming back,” said William.
Mandla Mabona, a community leader, said when they approached the suspect for questioning, he ran away.
“We suspected that this man could be behind the kidnapping. We knew him as Katlego’s boyfriend. He seemed like a dodgy character who did not want to mingle with the locals. At this present moment, we are still looking for him. We are hoping that the police locate him so that he can tell us what happened.”
Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, spokesperson for the Limpopo police said they have opened an inquest docket while investigations are continuing.
