A young teacher in Northwest’s alleged killer appeared in court on Monday after he was caught with her bank card and cell phones.
Akanyang Rakodi, 40, remains in custody and is due to appear again in the Mogwase Magistrate’s Court on July 14, Brig. Sabata Mokgwabone, North West police spokesman, said.
Rakodi is now applying for legal aid. He is charged in addition to the murder of theft and possession of suspected stolen property.
Khumontle Mokgosi’s 25-year-old body was found in her home near Mogwase in the Rustenburg area last Monday after failing to arrive at Makoba Secondary School, where she gave life sciences. Her hands and feet were tied and she was strangled.
Rakodi was arrested on Friday in a settlement near Zeerust. A multidisciplinary team consisting of police task teams from Zeerust and Bojanala district, as well as traffic police, was involved. Mogwase, where Mokgotsi was killed, is in the Bojanala district in the Rustenburg area.
A preliminary investigation showed Mokgosi’s bank card (after her death) was used to withdraw money from ATMs in Northam and Zeerust. Newly purchased items such as clothing, a car battery and liquor were also found with the suspect, Mokgwabone said.
Mokgosi was buried this past weekend. Her cousin, Thato Mokgosi, said her family will remember her for her warm personality. She also looked forward to her career as a teacher just starting out. “We’re crushed,” Thato said.
Mokgosi earned her teaching degree in 2018 at Northwestern University’s Mafikeng Campus and has been teaching at Makoba Secondary since January 2019. “We express our deepest condolences to Mokgosi’s family and the entire school community,” said Wendy Matsemela, MEC for Education in the North West.
“The education department is now fighting a common enemy, namely Covid-19. We did not expect to lose a teacher that way. It breaks our hearts. “
