Khayelitsha family distraught after discovery of teen’s body metres away from home

Sikelelwa Mona(18) was found dead at a neighbours shack in Taiwan Site C, Khayelitsha

Sikelelwa Mona(18) was found dead at a neighbours shack in Taiwan Site C, Khayelitsha

Published Jul 11, 2023

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Cape Town - The family of a murdered 18-year-old girl from Taiwan, Site C in Khayelitsha, are distraught after her body was discovered a few houses away from their home.

Sikelelwa Mona was allegedly served alcohol mixed with eye-gene drops before she was raped by her two neighbours.

Mona, a grade 12 pupil at Intlanganiso High School, was found “not moving” by her friend at the neighbours’ shack on Saturday morning, a few hours after her friend called her from her home to hang out with them at the neighbour’s house.

Mona’s mother, Chithiwe Florence Mona, said her daughter was found dead at a neighbour’s house without her clothes and a piece of her private part cut off.

“Sikelwa’s friend came to fetch her on Saturday morning, saying they will come back shortly. A few hours went by, and the same friend returned, crying, telling us that she could not wake her up. Getting to where her body was, we found her lying on a bed with a piece of her private part cut off. Her body was still warm, but she was not replying to anything. I asked the neighbours to help me carry her outside, thinking maybe she needed some air, but she never woke up,” she said.

Mona’s mother said that when police arrived, it was clear her daughter was dead. She said the officers asked what Mona had eaten or drank because her mouth was grey.

Sikelelwa Mona's family: Nobuhle Hlakavu (aunt) Chithiwe Florence Mona (mother) and Notest Mona (grandmother). Sikelelwa Mona 18 year old from Taiwan in Site C was raped and killed on Saturday. Photographer Ayanda Ndamane /African News Agency (ANA)

“When the police asked what she was fed, the same friend who came to report, directed them to a suitcase saying the guys took out a white small bottle from there and mixed it with her alcohol. On the bottle was written eye-gene,” she said.

The family and neighbours said police arrested the two men and two women who were in the house with Mona, but it was reported that they were seen around the next day.

Community leaders Nobathembu Seplani and Odwa Goxo said: “Following the reports that the four individuals were released, we as the community will go to police to find out the reason behind them being released, and if they won’t be rearrested, we expect them to pay for the buria because we don’t want the situation to result in us, as the community, having to take the matters into our own hands.”

SAPS spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said: “Khayelitsha police attended a complaint on Saturday, 8 July 2023. Upon arrival at Site C, at about 14.00, they found the body of an unknown woman. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. Khayelitsha police registered an inquest for further investigation”.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111.