A mother’s anguish echoes through Kekana Gardens as the Moyo family prepares to lay 19-year-old Martha Moyo to rest, nearly a month after her gruesome murder. Martha was found dead, her body burnt beyond recognition, inside an abandoned shack on Friday, 24 October 2025. The family's desperate search for answers has led them to seek private forensic analysis, highlighting their profound grief and impatience with the pace of the official investigation.
The tragedy unfolded on that fateful Friday night when Martha left her home after receiving a call from a friend. According to her mother, Evelyn Moyo (37), Martha had been sitting with her, sharing pictures of decorated nails, at around 9 pm. She assured her mother she would return, but that was the last time Evelyn saw her alive.
"My daughter told me she was coming back. I slept and woke up at 12 midnight and I saw a ‘Please Call Me’ from her. I called her several times, without an answer. I ended up being blocked on my daughter's cellphone," Evelyn recounted.
Evelyn spent the entire night searching for her daughter, a desperate quest that led her to a horrifying discovery. "I saw smoke coming from an abandoned shack. I thought it was nyaopes, not knowing they were burning my daughter's body," she said, the realisation of what she had witnessed still raw with pain.
The next morning, Evelyn's worst fears were confirmed. A group of people had gathered near the shack, and Evelyn, drawn by an unbearable premonition, approached the scene. There, amidst the charred remains, she recognised her daughter by a single, heart-wrenching detail: her foot.
"I remember saying, ‘yoh, it's my kid’. I didn't know they were burning her. It was like in the movies. My daughter loved jokes. I want justice for her," Evelyn cried, the memory of that moment forever etched in her mind. The family claims Martha was burnt with tyres, a detail that underscores the brutality of the crime.
In a desperate attempt to find closure and begin the grieving process, the Moyo family turned to a private laboratory for DNA analysis. "The killing of my daughter continues to traumatise us. Getting DNA results will bring a bit of closure as it was hard not knowing whether it was my daughter I saw badly burnt, or not," Evelyn explained.
The family was unwilling to endure the lengthy wait for results from the government's forensics pathologist, which they were told could take over a month. They paid R4 165 to a private laboratory, receiving the confirmation they dreaded just five days later, on Friday, 14 November.
"Now, I know it's my daughter who was burnt to death," Evelyn said, the confirmation bringing a fresh wave of grief. "I did this to relieve the pain," she added, highlighting the family's desperate need to move forward and find some semblance of peace.
Martha's uncle, George Moyo (30), echoed the family's sentiments, stating, "We are in great pain. I still don't believe Martha is gone."
Evelyn's plea to her daughter's killers is filled with anguish and a desperate need for understanding. "I want to know why my daughter was killed this way. I don't have, and neither doesn't she have enemies. What I'm asking from the killers is to come and tell me what my daughter did to be killed," she implored. "She said she was still hoping she'd see her daughter knock on the door."
Martha's grandmother, Agnes Moyo (58), who helped raise her, is equally devastated. "I'm heartbroken because I raised her. I'm struggling to sleep and cry day and night, remembering my granddaughter," she lamented. Her message to the killers is a simple, heart-wrenching question: "Why did you kill my granddaughter?"
Martha's grandfather, Paulos Moyo (63), expressed his desire to see the shack where Martha was murdered destroyed, a symbolic act of cleansing and a demand for justice.
Mmabatho Koka, chairwoman of the community policing forum in Kekana Gardens, expressed the community's shared grief and sense of helplessness. "We are heartbroken. On the night in question, we were not patrolling. We feel helpless, as though we're failing to support the community. We want the shack to be removed," Koka said.
Tshwane district police spokesman Captain Johan van Dyk confirmed the positive identification of the deceased. "The DNA is handed to the family and is positive. The burial processes started. Investigation continues, and no arrests have been made," he stated. Gauteng police spokeswoman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi added, "As per the case number you provided, that's a murder case that is still under investigation, and no one has been arrested."
Martha Moyo will be laid to rest on Saturday, 22 November, at Kekana Gardens Cemetery. As the community prepares to say their final goodbyes, the search for justice continues.
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