Ekurhuleni murders: Dineo Motapane family demands justice

The family of Dineo Evelyn Motapane is demanding answers as they prepare to bury the 38-year-old on Thursday.

Relatives made a fresh appeal for information during a memorial service in KwaThema on Tuesday, a week after Motapane’s body was found beside a road in the township.

Her aunt, Nokwanda Matshikiza, urged anyone who knows what happened to Dineo to approach police, saying information from the community could help investigators crack the case.

The family has welcomed the decision to bring senior police officers into the wider Ekurhuleni investigation but says it now wants to see progress.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo are among the senior officers assisting investigators.

At Tuesday’s memorial, the family made its frustration clear.

“We want progress. We want to know where investigations are right now,” a relative said.

FAMILY PLEADS FOR INFORMATION

Motapane is one of nine women whose deaths have formed part of the wider Ekurhuleni investigation since July.

Her body was discovered in KwaThema on Tuesday, 15 September. Her family identified her at the Springs Mortuary the following afternoon.

No arrest has publicly been announced in connection with Motapane’s killing.

Her family believes someone in the community may know something that could help police piece together her final hours.

Relatives have also previously said they do not believe the roadside where her body was found was where she was killed.

Her aunt, Martha Goge, said last week that the family believed Dineo had been killed elsewhere and later dumped in KwaThema. She appealed to whoever was responsible to come forward and tell the family what happened.

Police have not publicly confirmed the family’s belief about where the murder took place.

‘IT’S SO PAINFUL’

The renewed call for answers comes less than a week after Dineo’s cousin Ayanda Nano spoke to The South African about the family’s final days with her.

“It’s so painful,” Nano said at the time.

She said the family last saw Motapane at about 17:00 on Sunday, 13 September, two days before police found her body.

“She seemed fine when I last saw her,” Nano told The South African.

Dineo had been at home with her family and gave them no indication that anything was wrong.

Nano described herself as Dineo’s eldest cousin but said their relationship was much closer.

“I was more like an older sister to her,” she said.

FAMILY WAS ALREADY PREPARING FOR A FUNERAL

Dineo disappeared while her family was already dealing with another death.

Relatives were preparing to bury an uncle on Tuesday.

When Dineo did not arrive for the funeral, concern grew.

The family had also heard that authorities had discovered a woman’s body in KwaThema.

“We were asking, ‘Where is she? When is she coming back? Is she even coming back?’” Nano told The South African.

The family contacted its local councillor for assistance before going to establish whether the woman police had found was Dineo.

On Wednesday afternoon, relatives identified her at the Springs Mortuary.

At the time authorities found Dineo, her family had not yet formally reported her missing. SAPS later confirmed the family had last seen her alive on Sunday.

‘SHE WAS A BUBBLY PERSON’

They are also mourning the woman they knew before her name became part of the Ekurhuleni murder investigation.

“She was a bubbly person,” Nano said.

Dineo leaves behind a two-year-old daughter.

The family has spent the past week receiving support from community members while repeatedly calling for justice.

At Tuesday’s memorial, relatives also directed a message at the person responsible for Dineo’s death, saying the killing had affected not only their family but the country.

The family will now lay Dineo to rest on Thursday, 24 September, while investigators continue searching for answers about who killed her and why.