Natasha Conabeer feared she was being stalked a week before her disappearance

Durban student Natasha Conabeer, who died in hospital after being dropped in front of her home unconscious on Sunday, had previously feared that someone was stalking her, a friend has said.

The 23-year-old Conabeer was last seen on August 18, approximately three weeks before she was dropped in front of her home at the weekend, alive but unconscious.

Her family rushed her to hospital, but she died on Monday morning.

Close friend Zamambo Mkhize on Tuesday said Conabeer had mentioned that she feared she was being stalked, but hadn’t given details.

“I told her to tell me when she was ready,” Mkhize said.

Mkhize said that “about a week before she disappeared (on August 18)”, Conabeer had shared some further details about her fears in WhatsApp messages.

In the message, Conabeer wrote: “I have someone following me and hacking my phone almost 24/7.”

She did not want to disclose any more information “until all of this goes away for my loved ones’ protection”.

She wanted to avoid the issue affecting people she cared about, like her mom, who she said had seen some of it play out the day before.

“Again, thank you for your concern. I love you,” she wrote.

The cause of Conabeer’s death has not yet been established.

Police have opened an inquest docket at the Durban North police station, Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said on Monday.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal said it was shocked and deeply saddened by Conabeer’s untimely death.

It did, however, clarify that, while Conabeer had applied to UKZN in 2014, she “sadly never followed through to formally register at the university”.

“This, however, does not diminish the outrage we feel as the UKZN community that is primarily made up of young people like her.”

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