Family shattered after gruesome death of young mother
The day her daughter left with her boyfriend she told her mum about a very worrying dream she had.
The family of a woman who was found dead in a pool of blood in Mamelodi have been left devastated.
Sibongile (Smomoza) Mataboge’s (23) lifeless body was found on the floor by the police last Thursday.
The officers had to force their way into her partner’s house she was staying in.
The circumstances around her death remain unclear.
She is survived by her two-year-old son.
Smomoza’s mother, Dudu Suzan Mataboge (43), said she was heartbroken by the death of her firstborn.
“It is very heartbreaking the way my daughter died. As a family we are having a difficult time coming to terms with her death.”
The day before Smomoza was found, she told her mother she had “a very worrying dream”.
Dudu said her daughter told her Youth Day morning that she dreamt two elders were keeping her from entering the home she was found in.
Mataboge said she told her daughter to stay at her home, but she (Smomoza) ended up leaving with her partner in the evening to celebrate Youth Day. She left her son behind.
“I told her boyfriend to bring my daughter back safely and he said he will ‘bring her safely with a smile’,” said Mataboge.
“That evening from 23:00 their two-year-old son started crying badly and only stopped the following day around 05:00. The boyfriend called early in the morning claiming that my daughter left his house in the night on June 16 and he did not know where she was,” said Mataboge.
Smomoza’s father Tebogo said following Smomoza’s disappearance, her partner helped to search for her when suddenly they were informed that he was being arrested by the police.
“Her boyfriend was on a call with us when we heard him saying the police were there to arrest him. Then the phone went dead,” said Tebogo.
“We rushed to his home and we found police cars and emergency services outside,” said Tebogo.
Police spokesperson, Captain Johannes Maheso confirmed that the police arrested a 30-year-old man at Mahube extension in Mamelodi East.
“The police were following up on information about drugs. When they arrived, they found a suspect who was very nervous, frightened and looked suspicious,” said Maheso.
“The police searched his room and found drugs, money and the body of a deceased woman.”
Maheso said the deceased was certified dead by paramedics who were part of the operation. She was later identified by her parents.
“It was discovered that the deceased was a girlfriend to the suspect.”
The suspect appeared at the Mamelodi magistrate’s court on Monday. The case was remanded to June 30 for a bail application.
He will remain in police custody.
On Wednesday the community of Mamelodi came together with the members of #Notinmyname and the ANC youth league to hold a memorial service for Smomoza.
They marched peacefully from the corner of Shabangu and Sibande avenues in Mamelodi West to Caution’s Place holding white candles as a sign of peace.
Themba Masango of #Notinmyname said the organisation condemned the senseless killing of the 23-year-old mother.
“As #Notinmyname we want to call on the justice system not to grant bail to the perpetrator. Furthermore we want the courts to hand down the harshest sentence available,” Masango said.
Mpho Ling from ward 38 said enough was enough.
“This is the last time we lost an innocent child because of gender-based violence,” said Ling.
She encouraged the community of Mamelodi to stand together and support the Mataboge family in this difficult time.
The community vowed to support the family.
She will be missed by the community, friends, her mother, father, two sisters, one brother and her two-year-old son.
Smomoza will be laid to rest on Saturday. The funeral service will be held in Mamelodi West, section B3, house 7903 in Dibe Street. The service will start at 08:00 and will then proceed to Mamelodi West cemetery.
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