Community Safety MEC condemns murder of pregnant Mokopane learner
Two fellow learners, aged 17 and 18-years-old were arrested after Tebatjo Nkoana's body was found at a dumping site outside the Mokopane CBD
MOKOPANE – The MEC for Community Safety and Transport in Limpopo, Makoma Makhurupetje says she appreciates the good work by police in arresting two learners for the murder of a 17-year-old teenage girl in Mokopane over the weekend
Read more: Two Mokopane learners arrested in connection with murder of fellow learner
It is alleged that on 12 April, 17-year-old Tebatjo Nkoana, who is believed to also have been pregnant, left for school and never returned home and a passerby noticed the victim, still dressed in her school uniform, lying in the bushes at ext.14 outside Mokopane.
Police have since linked her murder to two suspects aged 17 and 18-years-old, who were both learners at the same school. The two arrested suspects will appear before Mokopane Magistrate Court, soon and they have also been suspended from the school with immediate effect.
“The murder of young people by other school going teenagers is becoming a worrying trend in our society. It reflects that something is not well in our school safety system, especially now after reeling from the recent shocking news of the murders of Thorisho Themane and Thato Matlala who were both violently killed by other young people,” Makhurupetje said.
“Whilst I thank the police for doing a good job in arresting the two learners, I once more appeal to communities, parents, teachers and school governing bodies to tighten existing measures that are there to guarantee school safety, as gangsterism has no place in our schools. Our communities also need to deal decisively with an emerging culture of drug usage and under-age drinking by young teenagers, which has proven to be a big contributor to these kind of crimes,”she concluded.
