“MY SOUL will never rest.”
This is what a 24-year-old man wrote in his suicide note before killing himself on Friday, 14 May, after a gang attacked him.
Nkosana Mkhonto’s body was found hanging from the rafters of the ceiling by his sibling, who had gone to check up on him.
He left a three-page letter telling his family why he decided to end his life.
Nkosana was at work at Emtfonjeni Combined School in Kabokweni, Mpumalanga, when a group of boys confronted him about a woman he had dumped. It’s alleged his ex-lover, her brother and his friends confront him.
In the letter, Nkosana said a boy called him to the school gate and assaulted him.
“My dream was to be a police officer. I pray that the police can do justice and arrest the perpetrators. I still can’t believe that my dreams have come to an end,” he wrote.
“This is my last voice. I hope to get justice for what happened to me. My soul will never rest as I was bullied and assaulted for something I didn’t do. I am sorry for causing too much pain. How can people assault a person for leaving a relationship?”
A source who witnessed the assault said everyone was too scared to break up the fight.
“The whole school fears them. They are too dangerous. We just stood there and watched as they assaulted him because we were scared of being victimised.”
Family member Johannes Mabuza said everyone was still struggling to come to terms with what happened.
“The entire family is still reeling in shock and lost for words. But we find solace in the fact that the matter is with the police,” he said.
Nkosana will be buried on 22 May. Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said an inquest docket has been opened.
Mpumalanga education spokesman, Gerald Sambo, said the department was saddened by Nkosana’s death.
He said the department has already sent officials to render counselling services to affected pupils. Mpumalanga Education MEC Bonakele Majuba has encouraged communities to denounce violent activities and live in harmony with one another.
