A suspect linked to the murder of 17-year-old Ongeziwe Kamlana from Gugulethu was released on R1 000 bail.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says the suspect is due for a second court appearance on 17 April. ‘The suspect is out on bail with the condition that he does not leave the area,’ he told IOL.
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The circumstances surrounding Kamlana’s death are not known at this time. The teenager, a Grade 12 learner at Fezeka High School in Gugulethu, went missing on Saturday, 17 February.
She was reportedly last spotted at a car wash in the area, allegedly walking with a boy.
Her mother, 44-year-old Nondumiso Fanti, told IOL that she last saw her daughter when she returned home from Saturday classes at her school. ‘I do not know what she was wearing because, by the time she got home, she was wearing her school uniform. She changed out of her uniform, but I didn’t see her when she left the house. I was asleep.’
She added that Kamlana was last seen at the car wash, which is located in the Barcelona informal settlement next to Lwazi Primary School. ‘She was on her way home and was accompanied by a boy.’
She reported her daughter missing on Monday, 19 February. Van Wyk says Fanti kept trying to call her daughter’s cellphone. ‘She tried phoning [Ongeziwe], but the phone just rang, then went to voicemail. Her mother then tried phoning her again and it went straight to voicemail.’
She also reportedly called the school to confirm whether Kamlana attended classes.
However, on Sunday, 18 February, Kuils River police registered an inquest docket after the discovery of a burnt body inside a bungalow at a premises on Palamino Street in Jagtershof, Kuils River.
Two weeks later, DNA testing determined that the burnt body belonged to Kamlana, subsequently changing the inquest docket to that of murder.
On Sunday, 3 March, a 28-year-old man was arrested in connection with Kamlana’s death.
News24 reports that he appeared in the Bluedowns Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday and was released on R1 000 bail.
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Picture: Screenshot / Google Maps Street View
