Slain Karabo Mokoena remembered
Lover held over Karabo’s death
He was seen exiting and coming back with a bin
Friends and family of the slain Karabo Mokoena have described her as a bubbly person who loved to dance.
The 22-year-old from Diepkloof, Soweto, was last seen by her family on April 27 and yesterday they learnt with horror that her burnt body was discovered two days after her disappearance.
Her disappearance had gone viral on social media, with multiple pictures of her being shared with requests for help to find her.
Her uncle Tshepo Mokoena announced her death on Facebook yesterday.
According to police, the family reported her missing on April 28 at the Diepkloof police station.
“The following day‚ the body of a female was discovered in Lyndhurst at a park but police who discovered the body had no idea that it was the same person who was reported missing the previous day‚” police spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo said yesterday.
Outside her home in Diepkloof, Karabo’s childhood friend Qinisela Ndwadwa described her as a girl with a “big heart”.
“I remember when she turned 20 and we just hung out as friends.
“She was a majaivana
[liked dancing], we would always host mock Jam Alley shows and she would dance.
“When she would see people driving fancy cars she would say ‘We are struggling but we will get there and we would all laugh’.”
Another friend Thandokazi Nghona said Karabo loved singing
Thandokazi’s twin sister, Thando Nghona, admitted her death came as a shock.
“She spoke out about issues of female violence [women abuse]. She was a motivational person. I never in my wildest dreams thought that she would be a victim of something she spoke about.” Thando said. “We didn’t know the boyfriend but we saw him coming to fetch her. He drove a gold BMW, that she [Karabo] would sometimes drive.
“She became very estranged when she started living in Sandton, which was around 2014/2015. She would first visit [there] but it became more permanent then.”
Karabo’s uncle said her parents, Agnes and Thabang Moekoena, were traumatised by her death.
“It was a very traumatic experience. We couldn’t see her with our eyes, we only saw the pictures.”
He said there was a tyre around her and it seemed the body was doused with petrol and set alight.
The family went to identify her charred remains yesterday.
Police have confirmed that a man believed to be Karabo’s boyfriend, a 27-year-old entrepreneur, was arrested on Wednesday night and would appear in court today.
“Yesterday we were here [at the Sandton police station] until around 4am,” Mokoena said yesterday.
“The police went where the gentleman is staying. This is where they saw the footage that she entered on the 28th of April but never came out.
“The gentleman was seen [in the footage} exiting and coming back with a Pikitup bin.”
Philanthropist Matthew Mensah said Karabo had visited him and they were working on starting a foundation for abused girls.
“When I met her she looked vulnerable and told me she wanted to help younger girls and just to have peace,” said Mensah.