Kopano’s foundation phase teacher, Memory Madigoe, spoke about the child she watched grow up.
“We are worried about our little girls. What kind of a world are we living in? Her class was distraught when they heard what had happened; they are old enough to know that what happened to her can happen to them. They feel unsafe.
“We live in such a difficult world here [Durban Deep] and you could see in her eyes that her education meant a different life for her than the life of her parents. She had potential,” Madigoe said.
Kopano’s teacher, Lilly Mokgara, said the class of 5B were shattered when they heard the news.
“The class was chaotic, everyone was crying. It was hard for me because I need to be strong, but I had to keep leaving to cry. I just couldn’t help them and I couldn’t stand to see them in so much pain.”
After this the family seemed to have disappeared until one evening in January 2020 when Orapaleng called Sunday Times reporter Alex Patrick.
Follow the movements on that fateful morning on the map below and understand better why this case just doesn't add up, and how a crime with so many witnesses still goes unpunished.