We will never truly know what happened to Palesa Madiba, laments family
The family of slain University of Johannesburg student Palesa Madiba says while they have found some closure, questions remain about the circumstances that led to her death.
The High Court in Johannesburg convicted Dumisani Mkhwanazi of Madiba's death in December, five years after her remains were found buried in a shallow grave at her friend's home in 2015.
She went missing in 2013 after she was last seen at the home of her friend Matshidiso Mkhwanazi in Phiri, Soweto.
"We have found a little bit of closure because we found her and buried her, but when are sitting and talking, we wonder what happened," says Madiba's aunt Malesela Moshidi.
"Because Dumisani, Tshidi, and whoever was in that house are not telling us the truth. Because my feeling is that probably Palesa was killed on the Saturday or Sunday before the Monday we found out she was missing.
"We end up consoling ourselves that maybe we will never find out what happened. We will never know but at least we did get somebody to pay the price for what happened to Palesa".
She still believes the murder would have been solved quicker if dedicated police officers were assigned to the case.
"It took forever, it took long but as a family, we believe the captain who took over did a better job. The first person who handled this case messed it all up until it was handed over to Captain Manethe. If police officers could do their work the way he did, I think we would have a better South Africa," says Moshidi.
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