Father grieving after son’s murder

The teen was strangled to death and his body was dumped in Braamvlei near Randfontein.
According to the distraught father, he had spent the day with his son before leaving his home at 2532 in Batswaneng Section around 18:50 on Friday. When he returned at about 07:45 on Saturday, after fetching his sister from an unveiling ceremony, he noticed the open gate. Upon arrival, he also realised that his Toyota VVTI van was missing. When he entered the house, he found his son’s room open. It had been ransacked, and no one was there.
Montshiwa then reported the case at the police station. The police remained posted at the house until 04:30 the following day.
“When they left, I slept for an hour. I woke up and stood by the gate, wondering where my son was,” he said.
He noticed a white Toyota Fortuner SUV pass and his 17-year-old neighbour dancing on the street. The white vehicle suddenly stopped, and the youth was seen loading bags of clothes into it.
On Saturday afternoon, two women, a man and two teenage boys asked to speak to Montshiwa. They made the boys confess to stealing the van and say where it was. The youths admitted to taking the van around 20:00 on Friday, 3 March. They had travelled through the night to areas like Rooiport and Magaliesburg.
“When I asked about my son, they said they had not seen him and did not know his whereabouts,” Montshiwa said.
He then called the Khutsong station commander, Colonel Ockie Brits to inform him. Brits sent a team to fetch the suspects and their mothers and take them to the police station.
During questioning, the suspects continued to deny knowledge of the victim. It emerged that a man dating someone from the 17-year-old’s house was the driver of the white vehicle Montshiwa had seen. The police instructed the driver to bring the 17-year-old suspect to the police station.
Upon his arrival on Saturday night, he confessed to the murder and the three youngsters were immediately arrested.
They made their first court appearance on 12 March.
Their bail application was set for 18 April.
Tshiamo was a Gr. 7 learner at Phororong Primary School when he died and did well in his studies.
His emotional father said, “As a parent, I’m incredibly hurt. I want the community to stand with me in support so that justice is served. With their support, we will be able to fight crime. If we leave this case, there will be more incidents of murder.”