Family investigates daughters death after being let down by SAPS

The family of Realeboga Mothapo (23) feel Kempton Park Police Station officers let them down after her disappearance and subsequent death at the start of February.

Realeboga went missing on February 3, and her father identified her body in Heidelberg three days later.

“My daughter left her house on Swart Street, Kempton Park, on February 3 and never came back,” said Realeboga’s father, Matsatsi Mothapo.

Realeboga worked at a logistics company in Pomona.

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“She was supposed to work half a day before leaving for a business meeting with her boss.

“After the meeting, she said she would go to the East Rand Mall to buy her little sister a pair of jeans.

“The last person my daughter spoke to her was with her little sister. She said she showed her the jeans between 13:00 and 15:00.

“That evening, we could not reach her. My daughter always lets us know her whereabouts, but she had not said anything,” said the father.

He said Realeboga’s family thought they would hear from her by Sunday morning, but nothing happened.

Mothapo said when they received no word from Realeboga, the family decided to open a missing person case at the Kempton Park Police Station. They did so on February 5.

“The first thing the police asked when we arrived at the police station was whether we had checked hospitals and mortuaries before coming to the police station. I told the constable that the information is not available in the public domain and we were following the correct steps to report a missing person,” said Mothapo.

He added that after receiving little help, the family decided to lead investigations on the case.

“I called Tembisa Hospital’s emergency department in the hope someone would check the register between Saturday and Sunday to see if my daughter was admitted.

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“I was told to call back after 30 minutes. It was as if the people who called the hospital were not taken seriously.”

The father said family members then went to a nearby internet café to make missing person flyers for Realeboga and her missing boss.

The family used the flyers as part of their statement for their missing person case.

Mothapo said their cases were handed to Warrant Officer Manyike, who deals with missing persons.

“The officer told my daughter’s mother that it was too early to worry that our daughter was missing. He asked us if our daughter had a boyfriend and whether we knew him. He also asked if she drank alcohol and whether her boss was married.”

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Mothapo said the family left the police station after 12:00 on the Sunday after Realeboga’s disappearance and expected to receive a case number for their missing person report later that day.

“On Monday, my brother and I went to the Germiston Mortuary to do our own investigation because it appeared it was a wasted effort for us to engage the police,” said Mothapo.

“I also asked my younger daughter to log onto Facebook to try and find a family member for my daughter’s boss who may be able to tell us where he was because he was driving with my daughter.”

Realeboga’s sister then made contact with a woman identified as the boss’ girlfriend.

“She said Cedric (the boss) was admitted to Vosloorus Hospital with a gunshot wound to his head. He was alive but had no recollection of events before he arrived in hospital,” said Mothapo.

“I then returned to the police station to hand over the additional information. I gave the officer the cellphone numbers of the boss’ girlfriend and thought that by giving them the information, we would get a call or an update.”

Four days after Realeboga disappeared, her father found her body at the offices of the Heidelberg forensic pathology.

“We went to the police stations in the Heidelberg area, and none had records of what happened to my daughter.

“I contacted the family who found Realeboga’s body and was told that when they went to the police station, the officers did not want to open a case. We only discovered that a detective was assigned to the case when we were at the forensic pathology services.

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“We identified my daughter and were told she had been shot in the head. A case of murder was opened at the Heidelberg SAPS.”

According to Mothapo, the family who found his daughter’s body live around Suikerbossie next to the mine dumps.

“There are maize fields a few metres from the main road.”

 

Mothapo said the family who found his daughter told him that on Sunday morning at about 02:00, they heard two gunshots.

“When the first gunshot went off, they heard a woman scream, then shortly afterwards, a second shot went off, and they heard a car speed away from the scene. The family said they were afraid to go out because they are aware of the murders and hijackings that happen in the area.”

He said the following morning, the family went to investigate and found Realeboga’s body in the grass. It is believed she was blindfolded, and her hands tied.

“I saw bruises on her hands.”

According to Mothapo, police found Realeboga’s boss around Katlegong on Saturday evening, and emergency services took him to hospital.

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He said nurses at the hospital told him an unknown number of men in balaclavas in Pomona attacked Realeboga and her boss.

“The services the SAPS provide aren’t pleasant. Is this the kind of treatment we deserve from SAPS? What are the authorities doing to restore the image of the police?” asked Mothapo.

Mothapo believes the police are a big problem in the community.

“In how many cases of missing persons have the police given feedback to families? It appears to me that there was never an investigation, nor will there ever be,” he said.

“We are not saying the police should have prevented this from happening, but we are saying they should have made an effort to assist us in finding her rather than us doing everything ourselves,” added Mothapo.

“What are they using the state resources for?

“I am going to miss her kindness. She was my first-born child, and I will miss hearing her calling me ‘ntwana’ and our bond,” said Mothapo.

The family buried Realeboga in Limpopo on February 17. She leaves behind her father, mother, three sisters and brother.

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The SAPS communication officer for the Ekurhuleni district, Captain Neldah Sekgobela, said she knew of the case and that a docket was opened and allocated to an investigating officer.

Skegobela said the SAPS was unaware of the family’s treatment by the officers on duty and confirmed there is no waiting period to report a missing person.

“You can report a missing person any time you feel his/her life might be in danger. Once a missing person case is opened, the investigations begin.

“In this case, as mentioned by the investigating officer, the family was interviewed on the Monday after the case was opened.”

Sekgobela said that according to information, the father found his daughter in Germiston Mortuary.

According to the Kempton Park SAPS station commander Brigadier Lindani Ndlovu, the family is welcome to file the complaint against the police so steps can be taken over the officers’ behaviour.