Lukhona Fose's family says community last saw her with friends on day she vanished
JOHANNESBURG - The family of a slain teenage girl from Roodepoort, Johannesburg, Lukhona Fose, says community members last saw her walking with a group of friends the day she vanished.
Her family reported her missing to the police when she didn't return home on that day.
Lukhona's body was later discovered in a veld a day later, brutally mutilated.
Her uncle, Mthobeli Fose, says she was found naked from the waist down, with cuts on both her lower and upper body.
ALSO READ: Police probing murder case after missing teen girl's body found in Roodepoort veld
He says two boys have approached the family, saying they can identify the group of friends she was last seen with.
"Police have gone out to search for her group of friends she was last seen with, with the help of the two boys. We are still waiting to hear what happened. They have not gotten back to us yet. We want to know from her friends what really happened and when they separated from each other."
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Education Department is providing counselling and trauma support to learners and teachers at Ikusasalethu Secondary School in Braamfischerville, Johannesburg.
Fourteen-year-old Fose, a Grade 8 learner from the school, was reported missing over the weekend.
Spokesperson Steve Mabona says the incident is devastating, especially during Child Protection Week.
"The Department stands with the nation in the condemnation of this barbaric incident. The MEC has indicated that the young girl learner who had a bright future in her life is now finished because of brutal activity that occurred in the hands of people that we don't know."
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Effective prevention requires moving beyond short-term responses to a focus on innovation, stronger coordination and meaningful systemic change. If South Africa is to fully honour its commitment to children — as enshrined in its globally admired Constitution and in the vision of a post-apartheid, democratic society — then we must go beyond the talk. Child Protection Month must leave a tangible legacy – a shift from crisis response to systemic prevention, lives safeguarded, futures restored and children truly heard. DM
