Khumo Moselakgomo, 8, bids farewell to her mother as nine Kempton Park deaths are investigated

Eight-year-old Khumo Moselakgomo stood before mourners in Pankop township, Mpumalanga, on Sunday and said goodbye to her mother in her own words.

Her mother, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, was 38. She left her Kempton Park home for an afternoon run on Wednesday, 10 September, and did not come back. Her family reported her missing after Khumo contacted relatives when her mother failed to return, and relatives later identified her body at the Germiston mortuary.

Khumo’s tribute has travelled far beyond the tent it was spoken in.

“Dearest mother, how heartbreaking that you left me,” she said. “The day feels quiet without your voice, but your love is still here, surrounding me with love.”

She told the mourners that the memories she and her mother made together would stay with her, and that when the loneliness comes she will look at the sky and picture her mother watching.

“I wish I could hug you. I wish you can be here. But I carry you inside my heart, so you can always be nearby,” she said.

She closed by calling herself her mother’s princess, and thanked her.

Nine deaths under investigation in Ekurhuleni

Elizabeth Moselakgomo is one of nine women whose deaths are being investigated in Ekurhuleni, according to IOL.

That figure is the reason this funeral drew attention beyond the family and the running community. Nine sets of remains found in one metro, under investigation at the same time, is a caseload that belongs to the South African Police Service and to the National Prosecuting Authority, and it is the measure of whether the investigation is moving.

The Enquirer has asked Gauteng SAPS for the status of each of the nine cases, the mandate of the team handling them, and whether any arrests have been made. We will report the answer when it comes.

An education fund passes its target

Four days after Elizabeth Moselakgomo’s body was identified, a BackaBuddy campaign was opened to fund her daughter’s schooling. It launched on Monday, 14 September, with a target of R50 000, and by Wednesday it had raised R108 541.

The campaign organisers said the money is meant to last longer than the immediate funeral costs, covering school fees, university fees and the other expenses that come with raising and educating a child.

“While we cannot fill the space left by a parent, we can come together as a community to help provide something lasting: The gift of education and the opportunity for a brighter future,” the campaign statement said.

It said it hoped the fund would give Khumo stability and a route to the future her mother had been working for, and that no contribution was too small.

“For those who knew Tsontso, this is a chance to honour her memory in a way that will continue long after the finish line,” the organisers said.

Elizabeth Moselakgomo was known to the people who ran with her as Tsontso. The fund now carries her name and her daughter’s future, and the runners who donated to it did so in the week their fellow runner should have been out on the road.

What happens next

The investigation into the nine deaths in Ekurhuleni continues under the South African Police Service, and the BackaBuddy campaign for Khumo Moselakgomo’s education remains open.

Source: IOL, “How heartbreaking that you left me”: Elizabeth Moselakgomo’s eight-year-old daughter emotional tribute