Grade
12 Fezeka High School learner Ongeziwe Kamlana will be buried on Saturday 16
March and her service will be held at her home in
the Barcelona informal settlement in Gugulethu.
The
17-year-old girl went missing
on Saturday 17 February and her body was discovered in a burnt bungalow at Palomino Street in Jagtershof, Kuils
River on Thursday 7 March.
On
Wednesday 13 March her school held a memorial service for her. The deceased’s family said they were too distressed to speak to the media.
Speakers
described Ongeziwe’s death as tragic, a very promising
young life cut short, and portrayed her as humble and
generous.
Her class teacher Mpumelelo Mantshintshana said the
school was
devastated by her death. “Ongeziwe was a
brilliant child. She was a quiet person who
liked to smile all the time.”
He
urged her classmates to honour her by ensuring they got good results at the end of the year.
Ongeziwe’s
best friend and classmate Lilitha Njana said she was
heartbroken by her friend’s death. The two had been inseparable since
Grade 8, Lilitha saying Ongeziwe was like a sister to
her, sharing
everything.
“Ongeziwe’s death has changed those of us who were in her class,” Lilitha said. “Now we are united and
support one another. Her spirit has done something to us. If we had issues as a class
before, all this has changed since we got the news of
Ongeziwe’s death.”
Ward
39 councillor Thembinkosi Mjuza urged the community to take responsibility and
look after their children. He described Gugulethu as a war zone.
Mjuza
said he believed
that if the City installed cameras in the townships crime will decrease. “The government needs to provide the
necessary infrastructure. If there are cameras
up in Gugulethu we will be able to see the perpetrators. Also,
as parents we have a responsibility to look after our children, and they must listen.”
Provincial
police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk said an inquest docket was registered on
Sunday 18 February and the charge was later changed to
murder.
“The
body of a deceased person was burnt beyond
recognition at a bungalow on premises in Palamino
Street, Jagtershof in Kuils River. DNA testing confirmed the body found as being that of the
missing 17-year-old Gugulethu girl.”
He
said a man, aged 28, was arrested on
Sunday 3 March and appeared in the Blue
Downs Magistrates’
Court on Tuesday 5 March.
“The suspect was released on R1 000
bail, and his
next court appearance will be on Wednesday 17 April. He is out on bail on
condition that he does not leave the area.”