'Our hearts are bleeding': three young constables remembered at memorial

Tears flowed at Bobbies Park in Bloemfontein on Tuesday as grieving families and colleagues shared emotional memories and recalled some of the final moments of the fallen constables Cebekhulu Linda, Keamogetswe Buys and Boipelo Senoge.

“Our hearts are bleeding. We are mourning,” said a representative of the Buys family.

The bodies of the three police constables were retrieved from the Hennops River in Centurion last week after they went missing while travelling to Limpopo for their deployment. They were last seen on April 23 at the Engen garage near the Grasmere toll plaza on the N1.

At the memorial, the families thanked the government, police and the public for their support.

“We also want to thank the public for their comfort, visiting us and praying for us,” said a representative of the Buys family.

Mandla Linda, from the Linda family, said as painful as it was, collecting the remains of their children brought some relief.

“Yes, our hearts are shattered because we didn't expect to lose them so soon. We know this is the path and life they wanted to live. They wanted to make a difference in our lives and in the country. We want to say thank you too. [This] has left a void in our lives. I will ask you to be strong,” he said.

A Senoge family representative said they were expecting a lot from Boipelo and described her as a respectful person.

Sharing his last encounter with her, the representative said: “When I met her at home wearing a police uniform we spoke a lot where I thought we would continue our conversation next time,” he said.

Paying his respects, national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola started by apologising to the families.

“We are sorry that you gave us your two daughters and son — fresh, energetic, and dedicated to their work — and we are bringing them back in the state they are now,” he said.

Masemola assured the families that they did their best to search for the three constables. He said when they picked up the case they had not anticipated the tragic end.

“We all initially thought this might be a possible hijacking or kidnapping. We investigated through technology and meticulous intelligence and detective work and our investigation led us to Hennops River, where we undertook a three-day search.”

Masemola said it was a difficult six days for members of the police service and the affected family during the search.

Senoge's colleague, Const Mukhetho, broke into a song- “It is well, with my soul”.

“We have lost a soldier. She was a very bubbly person. She was very energetic,” he said.

Describing her last moment with them, he said: “For the first time she did things that we only realised now was not normal. She's a happy person but that specific night she was very happy, more than happy, but I don't know why.”

Mukhetho said Senoge had fulfilled her purpose.

“Though her life was short, she did what she was supposed to do on this earth,” he said

Senoge will be laid to rest on Thursday at St Peter's Anglican Church in Mangaung, Linda on Friday at St Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Bochabela and Buys on Saturday at the Grassland Hall Cemetery in Thaba Nchu.

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