‘It’s so painful’: Family of third Ekurhuleni victim Dineo Motapane speaks

Ayanda Nano fought back tears as she described how her family went from burying one relative to learning that Dineo Evelyn Motapane had become the third identified victim in the Ekurhuleni murder investigation.

The family buried an uncle on Tuesday, but Motapane never arrived at the funeral.

By then, relatives had already started asking where the 38-year-old was, why she had not come home and whether she was still safe.

A day earlier, the family had heard that authorities had found a woman’s body in KwaThema, Springs.

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

The family then began to fear that the unidentified KwaThema victim could be Motapane.

They contacted their local councillor and asked for help before going to establish whether the body was hers.

On Wednesday afternoon, their worst fears were confirmed when relatives positively identified her at the Springs Mortuary.

Motapane’s identification made her the third woman publicly identified in the wider Ekurhuleni killings investigation.

LAST SEEN ON SUNDAY

Nano, Motapane’s eldest cousin, said she last saw her at about 17:00 on Sunday. “She seemed fine when I last saw her,” she said.

She had been at home with the family and showed no obvious sign that anything was wrong.

Nano said she and Motapane shared a bond that went beyond being cousins. “I was more like an older sister to her,” she said.

The family had already endured the loss of their parents and had continued living together and supporting one another.

Now they face another devastating loss.

FAMILY WAS ALREADY MOURNING

Motapane’s disappearance unfolded while the family was preparing to bury their uncle.

When she failed to attend Tuesday’s funeral, relatives grew concerned as it was not like her to not show up.

They had already heard about the body found in KwaThema on Monday and began questioning whether it could be her.

“We then decided to go and see if it was her or not,” Nano said.

At the time police found Motapane’s body, her family had not yet reported her missing.

‘SHE WAS A BUBBLY PERSON’

Nano described Motapane as warm, lively and close to her family. “She was a bubbly person,” she said.

She leaves behind a two-year-old daughter.

For Nano, the reality of that loss remains difficult to process as the family had hoped Motapane would still walk through the door.

Instead, they found themselves identifying her body while still grieving another relative.

POLICE CONTINUE EIGHT-WOMEN PROBE

Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane confirmed that the family had positively identified Motapane.

Police found her body on the side of a road in KwaThema, Springs.

Investigators are probing her death as part of the wider investigation into the deaths of eight women across Ekurhuleni.