Police in bid to find murderers of Lenasia boy

THE POLICE have released identikits of the suspected killers of nine-year-old Keketso Mahlakwana, who was found dead last month in Lenasia, south of Joburg.

The images, which have been circulated on social media, are based on police interviews conducted with eyewitnesses from the scene, said Lenasia SAPS spokesperson Captain Hector Netshivhodza.

Keketso was abducted on May 16, 2017 from Flamingo Primary School in Lenasia, which he attended. “He was playing with other children outside the school when a woman dragged him into a white taxi,” the captain said.

That Friday, three days later, Keketso’s body was found by a hunter in the veld in Lenasia Extension 11, Netshivhodza said.

The boy had multiple stab wounds on his upper body. It is believed that two men and a woman were involved in his abduction.

However, the second man was sitting inside the taxi and not visible to those who saw the abduction happen. “We are appealing to the community to give us information,” Netshivhodza added.

Anyone with information about the suspects’ whereabouts should call the police emergency line at 0860010111 or 10111, he said.

Keketso’s murder is just one of many senseless killings of women and children that have rocked the nation lately.

“Young children and women are increasingly becoming the target of violence,” community representative Mickey Padayachi said at the boy’s memorial service. “This needs to stop, and we can only do so if we stand together.”

Today, Sizakele NkosiMalobane, the MEC for Community Safety, was expected to lead a human chain with Gauteng Legislature Speaker Ntombi Mekgwe around the legislature in the Joburg CBD to mobilise men to protect women and children in light of recent events.