The bruised body of 29-year-old Ditshwanelo Tshiamo Mokone was discovered in an open veld near the Ekurhuleni TVET College Kathorus Campus in Katlehong, just days after she went missing.

Ditshwanelo disappeared from her home in Phadima Section on the night of Sunday, July 27.

Her lifeless body was discovered by a passerby on the morning of Tuesday, July 29, only metres away from the house she shared with her aunt and uncle.

Speaking to Kathorus Mail during a prayer session held by the local community, her aunt, Masentle Mokone, said she last saw Ditshwanelo at around 22:00 on the night she disappeared.

“She left the house without saying where she was going. That was the last time we saw her,” Masentle recalled.

Describing the horrific discovery, she said Ditshwanelo’s body was found with her face bruised and covered in blood.

“It seems like she was killed somewhere else and her body dumped in the veld near our home. Her pants were pulled down to her knees. Her cellphone and shoes were also found near her body,” she said.

Masentle described her niece as a kind-hearted person who was loved by many.

“She didn’t deserve to die like this. We are shocked and traumatised. Her mother died when she was still a child, and I raised her. She had been working in Cape Town but lost her job. I told her to come home to Katlehong. I never imagined she would die here. I’m struggling to come to terms with her death.”

She added that the family is pleading for justice.

“I hope the people who did this are found and arrested.”

Ekurhuleni SAPS spokesperson Neldah Sekgobela confirmed that on July 29, around 23:00, officers from Katlehong North were called to the scene where the body was discovered.

A case of murder is under investigation.