‘He was bright’: teacher describes Fleurhof boy found dead on staircase of his apartment

Jayden Lee Meek, whose body was discovered on a staircase at the Swazi Complex in Fleurhof, west of Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, was a bright pupil and a joyful child to be around.

His teacher, Katlego Molokwane, said the 11-year-old, who was last seen on Tuesday when the school transport dropped him off, was one of those children who just brightens your day. 

“I am distraught, to be honest. My head is all over the place, I don’t know what to think, I am confused, I am heartbroken — I just don’t know how to feel right now,” she said. 

Molokwane and her colleagues visited Meek's home on Thursday to pay their respects to the family. “He was just one of those children that when you get inside the class, you know that your day is going to be bright,” she said. 

She said Meek joined the Royal College in Florida on the West Rand in grade 6 towards the end of the first term.

“He came late in the middle of the term, and I was worried when he came that late. We were close to writing tests. I was worried how he was going to perform in the tests, but to my surprise, he was in the top three,” she said. 

She added that he earned an award at the end of term for being in the top three.

Molokwane said that when you see a pupil like him in the classroom, “you just know academically, the child will just make your day,” she said. 

She said pupils at school were told on Thursday that Meek had passed away. They were in tears and couldn't believe what had happened to their friend and classmate, she added.

On Thursday morning, residents gathered outside Meek's gated residential complex and complained about safety in their community. 

One of the residents, who wanted only to be identified as Sibongile, said she escorted her children to the bus and waited for them after school every day. 

“As parents we are also not feeling safe. We don’t stay far from this flat where the incident happened,” she said. 

She said the community wanted to know who was involved and what had happened. “Our children are not safe, the perpetrator has not yet been found. We don’t know if someone who did this is among us or is around us — we don't know, but our children are not safe,” she added.

Community leader Sandile Mbatha said the community planned to march to the Florida police station on Saturday morning.

“We are demanding justice, and someone needs to be arrested. So we are going to the police station on Saturday morning at 10am. The community is very angry about the death of the child,” he said. 

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said an inquest docket has been opened.

A team of seasoned detectives has been established to investigate the circumstances that led to the boy's disappearance and death, he said. As of Thursday, no-one had been arrested.