Lukhona Fose a 14-year-old girl whose body was found mutilated In Braamfischeville, Soweto on Saturday. Source imagery: Supplied
(The Post News)- Lukhona Fose was remembered in an emotionally charged memorial service at Braamfischeville, Soweto, where the 14-year-old’s mutilated body was found on Saturday, a day after she went missing. On Thursday afternoon, the Nkone Maruping Primary School hall was packed to capacity with mourners, who came to honor a life that was cut short. An emotional song by her classmates evoked emotions from the mourners, setting an emotionally charged atmosphere. Sounds of crying echoed in the hall as her schoolmates struggled to withhold their sadness and grief.
Joburg Safety and Security MMC Mgcini Tshwaku assured those in attendance that they are working day and night to bring perpetrators to justice. “I told the special unit K9 and JMPD Tactical Response Unit that no one will sleep; they must go and find the murderer, the person who killed Lukhona,” he said, calling out the inefficiency of the police when it comes to treating cases that involve other law enforcement agencies.
Tshwaku said, “We said that if one of our colleagues is killed, we don’t sleep; we work 24 hours to get the suspect. I said I am going to come here and make a commitment that within seven days, there must be an operation. There is a lead that we have got.”
One of her schoolmates shared her concerns over the unsolved cases and the scourge of GBV in South Africa in a moving poem. “We are not done talking about Cwecwe, boom Olerato; we are not done talking about Olerato, boom Lukhona. How many more? How many more?”
“We cry, we scream, but there are no steps taken. We cry, we scream, but there is no change. What has this country become? We are scared for our lives. What happened to Lukhona is an indication that this country has a long way to go in creating a society that respects, values, and voices all individuals.” She continued.