• Likhona Fose went missing on 31 May after she went to play with friends near her Durban Deep home.

• On Thursday, learners, teachers, family and friends gathered at Nkone Maruping school hall to mourn Likhona.

Fourteen-year-old Likhona Fose went out to play last Saturday afternoon. She never came home.

The next day, her body was found in an open field near her home in Durban Deep, Johannesburg. Her private parts had been cut off.

Her family and neighbours had searched for her the night before but could not find her.

“Likhona was playing in the yard in the morning,” said her neighbour, Nomsa Mokoena. “Later, she went to play with her friends and didn’t come back.”

Mokoena and Likhona’s uncle, Mthombeli Fose, went out to look for her but came back empty-handed.

“The next day, someone posted in our community WhatsApp group that a girl’s body had been found in the bushes,” said Mokoena. “We rushed over. It was Likhona.”

On Thursday, learners, teachers, family and friends gathered at Nkone Maruping School Hall to mourn Likhona. A banner at the front of the hall read: “Justice for Likhona” and “Stop gender-based violence”.

Many learners cried as they shared their memories of her. She was described as a bright, hard-working girl who wanted to build a better life for herself.

Colonel Lindiwe Mnguni from the South African Police Service in Dobsonville spoke at the memorial.

“Men need to reflect on their role in society. Even the Bible says men should protect and provide,” she said. “When I was a child, we played at neighbours’ homes. It used to be safe.”

Likhona’s uncle made an emotional plea to her friends.

“Just tell us what happened to her,” he said. “You were the last ones to see her alive. That’s all we want to know.”

Pictured above: Family members of Likhona Fose.

Image source: Palesa Matlala