By Levy Masiteng
The body of 16-year-old Kgomotso Raphetane has been recovered from bushes in New Eersterus, Hammanskraal, weeks after he disappeared from an initiation school.
Kgomotso was found on Saturday, 8 August 2026, after disappearing from the Bra Happy Initiation School in New Eersterus on 6 July.
His death has left his family, friends and members of the Hammanskraal community devastated after weeks of searching for answers about his whereabouts.
Kgomotso and his 14-year-old brother had travelled to the initiation school on 1 May. While his younger brother returned home on 18 July after spending more than two months at the school, Kgomotso remained missing.
At the time, Kgomotso’s mother, Pauline Raphetane, appealed for information about her son’s whereabouts.
The family questioned how Kgomotso could disappear from the initiation school without a clear explanation, saying they were particularly distressed because the two brothers had gone to the mountains together,
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