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Anger as murdered masego (10) is buried

TEN-YEAR-OLD Masego Kgomo, of Soshanguve, Pretoria, was buried at the weekend, amid calls for communities to be more vigilant.

Masego went missing from her home in Block F on New Year's Eve and her decomposed body was found in a bush near the Soshanguve railway station eight days later.

At an emotional funeral service attended by hundreds of mourners, including government ministers, people expressed anger at the horror killing of the Grade 6 pupil and the abuse of children and women.

Seven people, including a 75-year-old sangoma and a 14-year-old schoolboy, were initially arrested in connection with her death.

The sangoma and a 19-year-old teenager were released as there was no evidence linking them.

Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya and Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa condemned the use of body parts for muti, saying it had nothing to do with culture.

Ramokgopa and Mayende-Sibiya said an urgent meeting with "legitimate traditional healers" should be convened to discuss muti killings.

Mayende-Sibiya called on the court to impose the "harshest sentence to those barbaric perpetrators".

She said Masego's death should "unite us further as a community" and urged communities to report any criminal activities to the police.

The place near where Masego's body was found would be cleared and replaced by "a beautiful structure to ensure that the memory of Masego lives forever and that women and children could walk the streets of South Africa without fear of being attacked", the minister said.

Earlier a teary-eyed Ramokgopa also called on the five accused to reveal the people they were allegedly supplying with the body parts.

"God is on our side. We are fighting a Godly war and we will win," she said.

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