Cape Town -
A memorial service held for a Happy Valley teenager found mutilated a week ago has opened up wounds the girl’s family was trying to close.
About 300 people gathered at the Happy Valley Community Hall near Eersterivier on Monday to mourn the death of Nomsa Mosotho, 14, whose body was found in a bush on April 13, a day after she was last seen by her family.
Her ears, tongue and genitals had been cut off, she had suffered a severe blow to her head and her lower body had been burned with boiling water, her aunt Cornelia Nyuku said on Monday.
Nomsa’s parents, Blandinah and Wilson Majola, were distraught on Monday.
“All this (memorial service) is doing is reminding me of the night my child was found dead, but I do appreciate all the people coming here to support me,” Blandinah Mosotho said.
Nyuku, who also lived next to the Mosotho family, said the last time they saw the teenager was around 6pm on April 12 when she walked to her friend.
Nyuku said when Nomsa did not return home, they thought nothing of it as she often spent the night at her friend’s place.
“We went to church, thinking she was safe. But when we returned home, we became worried.”
Nyuku said she and Nomsa’s mother then went to Mfuleni Police Station to file a missing person’s report. A police officer told them the police would come to their house later that evening.
“At around 11pm, the police still did not visit. We then gathered all the women in the road and decided to walk to the station,” Nyuku said.
Nyuku said that on their way they saw police vehicles parked at a nearby bush and noticed police were looking at a body, Nyuku said.
“I asked if it was Nomsa. She had a heart-shaped tattoo on the right side of her shoulder. We begged police to tell us if it was her,” Nyuku said and added that one of the officers finally broke the news that it was Nomsa’s body.
When she and Nomsa’s parents went to formally identify the body at the mortuary the next day they saw her ears, tongue and private parts were cut off,
Nyuku said. The family suspected her body parts were removed for muti.
ANC MPL Lynne Brown told mourners that there was no protection for the community and Nomsa’s death was political.
“In the next few weeks leading up to elections, you will read (in) the newspapers of not a single white child who dies like this. It is political that Nomsa couldn’t walk safely to her home that night. The Western Cape needs a government that sits at the side of the community,” Brown said.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said: “We are investigating a case of murder.
Post-mortem results will determine whether we will open a rape case.”
Anyone with information can contact their nearest police station, call Crime Stop 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line 32211.
Cape Times