Vigil held for slain Dersley Park father

The Dersley Park community is reeling in shock after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Thabo Motaung.

Thabo and his eight-year-old daughter were walking along Silica Street on November 5 when two men approached them.

These men fired eight shots at Thabo and ran off leaving him with injuries to his head and upper body.
The Motaung family is hopeful that justice will prevail.

The following night, the Dersley Park community came together and held a candlelight vigil in honour of Thabo.

Many members of the community arrived with candles and flowers to pay their respects to the Motaung family.

Dersley resident and member of ward 72, Melissa Cronje, led Wednesday night’s vigil. She encouraged the community to stand together as one.

“This is not about me, this is not about you, this is about a little girl who lost her dad in front of her eyes. No matter what race or colour, we cannot let this go – all lives matter,” said an emotional Melissa.

The community stood together as one and prayed for justice for Thabo. Some revealed how scared they are after the incident and shared that their children were traumatised.

Thabo, who is described as brave, loving and smart, leaves behind his mother, father, brother and his two daughters.

His brother, Sam said he was a loving and kind person who was very protective of his family, especially his daughters.

“We are thankful to each person who attended the vigil. He was a real people’s person and this would have meant the world to him,” Sam said.

“I will miss my brother so much. I will miss him giving me life advice and just talking about all of our problems together. He was like a second dad to me and I will never forget his constant smile and laugh.”

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