Student’s death at Hoërskool Garsfontein leaves many searching for answers

There was still crime scene tape left between the rugby and cricket fields where a 16-yearold pupil from Hoërskool Garsfontein in Pretoria was found dead on Tuesday morning.

Pupils on their way to sports practice yesterday were still spooked by the news of the death after workers had discovered her body the previous day on the sports field, during the school holiday.

The group of pupils, who did not want to be named, said they were shocked to hear about Mia Kühn’s mysterious death and were trying to make sense of it.

“How did she get access to the school grounds at that time of the night?” and “Who did she meet?” were just two of the questions the pupils were asking on their way to the school.

According to the pupils, Kühn’s body was found between the rugby and cricket fields, close to the gym.

“Apparently it was murder,” one of them said.

One of the workers first at the scene described it as very sad.

Gauteng department of education’s spokesperson Steve Mabona asked the public to give Kühn’s family space to deal with her death because “the mother is not coping”.

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Mabona said the school’s security had found the body on the school’s rugby field on Tuesday and identified it as a Grade 10 girl pupil from the school.

Provincial SA Police Service spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said an inquest docket had been opened. Pink Ladies Org director Jacs Thomas said in general most runaway cases did not end badly.

“Very often the actual intent is a call for help or to get away from a cause of discomfort or unhappiness,” she said.

“Fortunately, in general, teenagers are creatures of habit [much like adults] and prefer to be in a comfortable environment, surrounded by their usual creature comforts [a warm place to sleep, entertainment, access to food, family and friends, and their personal items].

“I have found that when teenagers leave, for whatever reason, they usually turn up with friends or family.”

Thomas said there was the odd case where a teen would come to harm, but this was more the exception rather than the rule.

“In the current economic climate and state of decay of morality worldwide, I would be more concerned about the safety of a younger runaway [pre-teen or younger] lost child.

“Again, there are exceptions, if one takes into account the proliferation of drug and alcohol abuse, but these again are dependent on demographics, population and circumstance.

“For instance, in disadvantaged communities where young and middle-aged people are crowded together [not family] and crime is rife, numbers will be higher.

“One always has to paint on a large canvas and see the bigger picture,” she said.

The school management said in a Facebook post they were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragedy and urged any pupil or teacher affected by the death to reach out for counselling.