“We are still in disbelief. We are unsure of how to accept his passing.”
Thato Masikane spoke these comments after discovering her younger brother Tshiamo’s decomposing body hanging in a bush in Rustenburg, North West, three weeks after he vanished. An inquest case has been begun, and police have no suspicion of wrongdoing.
The family was in a state of shock following the death of Tshiamo, 17, according to Masikane.
“We’re still attempting to make sense of the circumstance. We are unsure of how to interpret his passing and are filled with concerns,” she said.
On January 1, Masikane said that her brother had attended a party with friends and requested to use their mother’s phone upon his return. She said Tshiamo had left home to buy airtime for their mother’s phone, and that was the last time they saw him.
Tshiamo never returned from the shops. The family asked friends and relatives if they had seen him, but no one had. Masikane said the family worked with the police and an organisation for missing children to find Tshiamo. They made posters and distributed them among the community and on social media.
However, they could not find him. On 21 January, a passerby found a body hanging on a tree in Cashan and notified authorities.
Masikane said her cousin received a call from the fire department at around 06:00 that day, telling her they had found a body. Tshiamo was about to begin Grade 12 at Kitsong School in Phokeng when he passed away.
Masikane said that he enjoyed dealing foreign exchange, listening to music, and watching European football. His ambition was to play soccer.
North West police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Adele Myburgh, said the police were still investigating the cause of death.
Tshiamo will be buried on Saturday in Phokeng near Rustenburg.