Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela, together with Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Motshidisi Koloi, joined the Mokoena family in laying to rest the remains of Mme Modiehi Khodumo Mokoena to rest in QwaQwa, this morning.
The barbaric killing of Mme Mokoena, allegedly by her son, left me feeling cold. According to the police, on Tuesday, 07 June 2022, Ntate Motsumi Mokoena, the deceased’s husband, found their son inside their property, busy collecting the victim’s body parts and placing them in a refuse bag.
The police further learned that the suspect attacked his father with a knife, resulting in his father being hospitalised with serious wounds to the chest.
It was only on Tuesday this week during the election of members of the Free State House of Traditional Leaders when the Premier called Marena to help build better and safer communities.
“Our plea was informed by such killings and the overindulgence of alcohol and drugs by our children. Violent crime has reached high levels, and criminals have reached new lows by chopping their victims up into pieces. This animalistic behaviour appears, where lowlifes murder defenceless women and dispose of them using plastic bags, appears to be gaining momentum” Premier Sisi Ntombela.
Last year, law student Nosicelo Mtebeni from the Eastern Cape was murdered, dismembered, and her parts stuffed into a suitcase and a plastic bag. Earlier this year, it also came to light that another lady, also from the Eastern Cape, was found dismembered.
“These sickening crimes have a common worrying factor. The suspects are known to the victims. In the case of Mme Mokoena, her son has been named as the suspect. The people close to and trusted by the victims, the people who are supposed to protect the victims, are themselves suspected of committing these heinous crimes.
I am absolutely sickened by the killing of Mme Mokoena and other women and children. We will continue to speak out against these crimes. We will also continue to call for the harshest punishment against the perpetrators. As we announced in the State of the Province Address, we will continue to increase our basket of services and reach out to fight gender-based violence, including implementing the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Our women and children need to be safe and feel safe,” added the Premier.
Rest in peace to Mme Mokoena. Rest in peace to all the women who have fallen victim to crime.
