Soshanguve pupils march to local police station after brutal rape, murder of matric pupil

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has appealed to pupils in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, to return to their classes on Tuesday after they disrupted schooling in the community following the murder of a fellow pupil, Palesa Malatji.

Pupils march for justice

Hundreds of pupils from Soshanguve marched to the Rietgat Police Station on Monday, demanding justice for Malatji.

The 17-year-old Grade 12 pupil from Ntsako Secondary School was allegedly raped and murdered on Thursday, on her way home from school after attending extra classes. Her brutal murder has sent shockwaves through the community and led to calls for the suspects behind her murder to be arrested.

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Chiloane visited the school on Monday to meet with the school’s management and to address the pupils. He promised pupils and parents that the police are working hard to catch the perpetrators behind Malatji’s murder.

“We will come back to you as a department after a week. Hopefully, by the end of the week, the case will be dealt with and those who are behind this brutal murder will be arrested. We will make sure those perpetrators never ever see the light [of day],” said Chiloane.

Police investigations

The MEC urged pupils to resume their classes on Tuesday, emphasising that police are giving high priority to the investigations concerning Malatji’s murder.

“The police have committed to me that this case has gone up to the level of the province and is receiving high priority, which means that all resources will be placed here to make sure we arrest whoever is responsible for this and we make an example of them,” he said.

“With that said, I’m asking you to return to classes tomorrow [and] we will come back and deal with everything.”

The MEC also visited Malatji’s family on Monday to offer his condolences.

According to the Gauteng Education Department, Malatji, who had attended extra classes in the afternoon last Thursday, left school and proceeded to walk back home. However, she did not arrive at her home, prompting her family to search for her at the school, but unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in locating her.

Tragically, her body was discovered near Echibini Secondary School in Soshanguve on Friday, having been subjected to sexual violation.

The department has dispatched its psycho-social support to the school and family.

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