Mpumalangan youngster found dead: Suspect released
Nomaswazi Masina is mourning the loss of daughter deeply, and said she never expected something like this to happen.
The body of a 17-year-old girl, Lethukuthula Amanda Masango, was discovered in a backroom in Ext 16 in KaNyamazane on Friday, March 14.
Following the discovery, a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with her death, however, according to a police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane, he was released on Monday, March 17.
Lethukuthula was a Grade 12 pupil at Lowveld High School.
Ndubane said the victim’s family last saw her early on Friday morning on her way to catch a bus to school. The exact events that followed after she left the house are still unclear.
“At around 17:30, the police received a call from a member of the public in Ext 16. On their arrival, they found the 23-year-old man who had made the call. He directed the officers to a backroom where the victim’s body was discovered. The man told the officers the room belongs to his brother and he did not know anything about what had happened. The victim was still wearing her school uniform and her body was covered with a duvet cover. There was a rope around her neck and another piece was hanging from the roof,” she said.
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Ndubane said the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death are still under investigation. The man that had been arrested was supposed to appear in the KaNyamazane District Court on Monday, although later that night the police said he did not appear and had been released.
“The case was not enrolled in court and the man was released pending further investigation,” said Ndubane.
Nomaswazi Masina, the victim’s mother, said her daughter’s death is hurting her a lot.
“I am going to miss her presence in the house. I never expected this to happen.”
Masina said there were a lot of things she loved about her daughter.
“Lethu was a bubbly person and a respectful child. I was happy that she was always at home and focusing on her studies. She was a bookworm. People on the outside assumed she was an introvert because she spent most of her time indoors. This made me believe that she was safe.”
Lethu’s dream was to study medicine.
“Her schoolwork was going well and she had a bright future. I was talking to her on Wednesday, March 12, and she showed me her math results. She did very well. I even told her how proud I am. She said she wanted to study at the University of North West.”
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Masina said she would like to ask the community to give the family an opportunity to grieve and have a safe space. She also said the community must stay alert and take action when they see any signs of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
“When they see any signs that a person is not in a good state or if they can see that a person could be abusing another, they should do something. The community must be aware of GBVF; they must look out for the signs and red flags.”
Sipho Zitha of the SA Men First Foundation said the GBVF activists in the province share the family’s excruciating pain.
“We condemn the barbaric act with the contempt it deserves. We are equally devastated that a young lady, whose academic performance was so good that the school principal was certain her dreams of becoming a medical practitioner would be realised, died. I would like to express our sincere sympathy and condolences to the family. We promise to support them until the matter is finalised in court. We are deeply sorry that as men we have failed the family and this young girl. We further commit to advocate for more resources to create more awareness about GBVF,” said Zitha.
