Missing girls found dead

Village in shock as two teenage cousins and a friend are discovered in bushes and church building

POLICE in Limpopo have discovered the bodies of three teenage girls who went missing last Monday.

Mankweng police spokesperson Captain Malan Nchabeleng identified the dead girls as Kedibone Ledwaba, 16, Refilwe Lucy Mampshika, 15, and her cousin Franscina, 16. All three attended school at Ramathope Secondary.

The girls had left their homes in Makgwareng Section in Nobody village to go to a local clinic but did not return home.

The girls' parents reported them missing at the Mankweng police station the following day.

Nchabeleng said the body of one of the girls was found inside the Apostolic Church in the village on Friday. The church is still under construction.

Nchabeleng said the bodies of the other two girls were found in the bushes at the nearby Mathibaskraal village on Saturday.

"We are investigating the circumstances that led to the girls' deaths," Nchabeleng said.

He said the body that was found in the church did not have any bruises.

"The bodies of the two girls found in the bushes had open wounds and we believe there was a fight prior to their killing," he said.

The Mampshika family said their daughters Francina and Kedibone were the best of friends and they knew they were together on that day, but did not know what had happened to them.

"We are traumatised by the deaths and we were hoping for the best for our children. We have now left everything in the hands of the police and we pray that they crack the case," said Regina Mampshika, Francina's mother.

Kedibone's mother, Rosina Ledwaba, was still reeling from the shock when Sowetan visited the family last night.

Ledwaba said it was the first time the area had experienced such a tragedy.

"We are shocked beyond words, especially since the two bodies were discovered in the thick bushes where no sane person can easily walk into. We believe the girls were forcibly dragged in there," Ledwaba said.

Police appealed to the community "to assist us with information that could lead to the arrest and subsequent conviction of the perpetrators".

Nchabeleng said the motive for the killing of the girls was still unknown but investigations were continuing.

"As the police we are very disturbed about the killing of the girls," he said.

Anyone with information is requested to contact Mankweng police's head of detectives, Lieutenant Colonel Willie Ramohubedu, on 082-319-9291 or their nearest police station.