Missing child found dead

MARKEN – The body of Katlego Lesenya (9), a Grade 4 Mokopane Primary learner, was found in a shallow river on Monday.
The child, who was reported missing on Saturday, was last seen in the company of his mothers’ boyfriend before he disappeared. Police reports state that the boy’s mother is a 38-year-old sergeant with the Mokopane Family Violence and Sexual Offences Unit.
She broke off her relationship with the man in question after an argument which saw him leaving with her vehicle.
Motsobane Masinga, Mzombane community representative and a friend of the family told Northern News that the mother started to worry when Katlego did not return home that evening. She called her boyfriend and asked him to return her vehicle and help her to look for the boy.
Police arrested the suspect on a charge of kidnapping in Lephalale. After appearing in court on Monday the man pointed out the area where he allegedly dumped the boy’s body. The suspect allegedly threw Katlego's body from a bridge on the Marken road between Mahwelereng and Lephalale in the Tinmines area.
Members of the K9-unit and the police searched the shallow river for the boy’s body and retrieved it on Monday afternoon. The suspect will appear in court again on 19 June.
Masinga says that the family is distraught and traumatized by this brutal act. “It will take time for the family to really understand why this happened.”
Katlego was described a loving and friendly child and the principal and teachers of Mokopane Primary issued a statement on Tuesday expressing their sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the boy. “Words seem inadequate to express the sadness we feel about Katlego,” it read. “Wishing you peace to bring comfort, courage to face the days ahead and loving memories to forever hold in your heart.”