Post by @justadvocacy1

The father’s words land like a blow to the chest. “This is the perpetrator who killed my boy.” He lives one house away. A high-school learner renting next door, close enough to speak to Lehakoe Makau in the street, close enough to lure a child who trusted the familiarity of his own neighbourhood. How did the family know? The perpetrator’s own conscience broke him. He confessed. In the aftermath they found a bag containing his blood-soaked shirts and Lehakoe’s Crocs, left behind with a bucket. The father believes panic seized him, perhaps he thought someone had seen him, so he abandoned the evidence and fled. What was done to the child is almost unbearable to say aloud. Lehakoe was discovered inside a maize-meal bag. His throat, navel and intestines were missing. The brutality points to something far beyond a momentary loss of control. The family does not believe the teenager acted alone. On the day of the killing, Lehakoe’s grandmother saw the perpetrator’s granny at the rental house. She claimed she had come to collect food because the boy refused to go to school or return home. Yet she left empty-handed and offered no clear explanation. Her own home is two kilometres away. Later she told people she had sent her other grandchildren back for blankets. When those children arrived, the perpetrator refused to open the door. They forced their way in. Only then did he admit he had killed someone. They returned and told their granny. She then informed others of what her grandson had done. The father suspects she was trying to control the story before the boy could fully expose whatever role she may have played. Someone alerted the police before the community could be warned. That single decision allowed the perpetrator to escape. Lehakoe’s name is Lehakoe Makau. Kwena is his clan name, short for Mokoena, not the name by which he should be remembered. A child is dead. Body parts are missing. The accused lived next door, still in school, and has now vanished after a confession that should have ended in immediate arrest. The questions surrounding the granny’s movements and the timing of the police call remain unanswered. Families should not have to piece together the murder of their own child from abandoned bags, bloodied clothing and half-told stories. Lehakoe Makau deserved protection from the very people living closest to him. His father is left holding the horror of what was done and the unbearable knowledge that the person responsible is still free. #JustAdvocacy #JusticeForLehakoeMakau #MissingChildrenSA #StopGBV #ProtectOurChildren