RIP Mapula Khune: Here's what you need to know about the death of Itumeleng Khune's sister

08 March 2021 - 10:44 By unathi nkanjeni
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Mapula Khune, 27, died in a house fire last week. Her body was discovered in a house in Tshing, outside Ventersdorp.
Mapula Khune, 27, died in a house fire last week. Her body was discovered in a house in Tshing, outside Ventersdorp.
Image: Mapula Khune/Instagram

A 17-year-old is expected to appear in the Ventersdorp Children’s Court on Monday in connection with the alleged murder of Mapula Khune.

Khune, 27, died in a house fire last week. Her body was discovered in a house in Tshing, outside Ventersdorp, in the North West.

The deceased was the sister of Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.

Here is what you need to know:

About Mapula

Mapula, also known as Meiki, was a fashion content creator.

According to her Instagram page, she was a marketer by profession with a business management degree. She also worked as CEO at her brother's charity foundation, The Khune Foundation.

Mapula had celebrated her birthday last month, sharing a photograph of herself with Khune.

Death

TimesLIVE reported on Friday that the death of Mapula was confirmed by North West police spokesperson Col Adele Myburgh.

Myburgh said neighbours alerted authorities to the fire in Ventersdorp at about 5am on Thursday.

“She was found in the room at the back of the home. It is just the room and bed that was damaged by the fire,” Myburgh said.

“We still haven't determined the cause of the fire. Our forensic team was on site yesterday. They will inform us whether it was an electric fault or it was man-made.”

Arrest

The minor was arrested on Friday in Ventersdorp, after the alleged murder of Khune.

Myburgh said the police initially investigated an inquest, but after obtaining more information, the inquest was changed to murder.

“Since Friday, additional cases of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) have been reported as community street patrollers and family members have allegedly been assaulting alleged perpetrators for the murder of Khune,” he said.

Myburgh said the provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Sello Kwena cautioned community members not to take the law into their own hands but to co-operate with the police to ensure that justice is served as prescribed by law.

Chiefs support 

Kaizer Chiefs showed support to their goalkeeper, granting him leave to attend the family matter.

Chiefs’ communications manager Vina Maphosa said the club would offer all the support they could to Khune and his family.

“From Kaizer Chiefs Football Club we send our condolences to Itumeleng Khune and his family‚” Maphosa said.

“As the club, we have mechanisms to work with players when they are faced with challenges‚ and we have instituted all that to support the player. We are with the family during this trying time.”

RIP Mapula

On social media, messages of condolences have been pouring in for the Khune family as fans and friends of Mapula reacted to the news.

Here is a snapshot of the reactions:


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