A Mamelodi family is grappling with an unimaginable tragedy after two young cousins, described as inseparable since childhood, were found shot to death outside their home on Sunday morning.
The victims have been identified as 22-year-old Tshiamo Moramaga, a budding beauty therapist, and her 21-year-old cousin, Baleseng Moramaga, a third-year Unisa education student. Their lives were brutally cut short in the early hours in Mamelodi East, leaving a family shattered and demanding answers.
“I’m so hurt. I’m shattered because she was the only daughter I had,” said a tearful Itumeleng Moramaga, Tshiamo’s mother. “The pain I am feeling now, I can’t even wish for my enemy.”
According to distraught family members, neighbours reported hearing an argument followed by gunshots around 4 a.m. Itumeleng revealed that the argument allegedly involved Tshiamo and her boyfriend, a detail that has intensified the family’s search for clarity. Adding to the mystery, Tshiamo’s phone is missing, while a message on Baleseng’s phone showed the two had been communicating shortly before the shooting.
The two young women were more like sisters, having done everything together from crèche. “They grew up together like twins… they even loved wearing the same clothes since childhood,” their grieving aunt recalled.
Captain Johan van Dyk of the Tshwane police confirmed a double murder docket has been opened after the victims were found with gunshot wounds to the head. The motive is currently unknown.
As police appeal for information, the family’s grief is compounded by a desperate plea for action. “We want justice for them,” Itumeleng stated, echoing the cries of countless families affected by South Africa’s relentless gender-based violence. “Women and children are getting killed every day.”
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