The mother of a teenage girl are desperately seeking answers following her daughter\u2019s suicide last Friday, 24 March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sad Khululwa Mangena-Duka said she and 16-year-old Oyama Duka were alone at their residence in Mbekweni on the day of the incident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe and her younger sister shared a room, and her sister left around 07:30 for school,\u201d she related. \u201cOyama didn\u2019t go to school because she said she wasn\u2019t writing exams on the day. After I locked the front door when my other daughter left I went back to bed, and Oyama was also still in bed. A few minutes after getting back into the bed I got up again to go the bathroom, and to get to the bathroom I have to walk past Oyama\u2019s bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mangena-Duka said on her way to the bathroom she had the sudden urge to check on Oyama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knocked once and opened the door and she was standing in front of the window. I called her and she didn\u2019t respond. I then walked up to her to ask why she didn\u2019t responded when I called her. I tapped on her shoulder and saw something wasn\u2019t right. She had a shoelace tied around her neck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Mangena-Duka she called the neighbours for help. When the neighbours got to the house, Mangena-Duka said, her daughter still had a pulse. They rushed her to a local hospital in Paarl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the hospital the nurse told me to open a file for Oyama, but while I was busy with that they called me. The doctor explained they tried to give her oxygen, but there was nothing else they could do. She died shortly afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mangena-Duka described Oyama as a quiet young girl who spoke only when spoken to. She was in Grade 10 at Noorder Paarl High School. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking about Oyama\u2019s death is still unreal for Mangena-Duka, but the worst part is that she doesn\u2019t know why she did what she did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter I got back from the hospital I searched through her room in the hope that she might have written a letter. The neighbours helped me, but there was nothing. She didn\u2019t have many friends, but I did ask those she had if she had said anything to them. One friend told me Oyama said she missed her father, but she had never mentioned anything to me or her siblings. Her father died in 2013 when she was just seven years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am hoping that someone out there has more answers for me and will reach out to me so that I can at least know why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oyama was a talented drum majorette and was a member of the of Drakenstein Majorettes team. Her coaches Mavine (Paulse) de Villiers and Rudean de Kock said they would remember her fondly for her \u201cinfectious smile and bristling energy\u201d, which showed when she was participating in a competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe started as a shy young lady in Grade 8 at Noorder Paarl High School and developed into a strong, beautiful young lady we were extremely proud of,\u201d De Villiers said. \u201cShe started off with the team since the birth of Drakenstein Majorettes in 2020 and the entire team and management will miss her dearly. Rest in peace, young soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oyama would have celebrated her 17th birthday on 30 April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WO Nceba Vanqa, Mbekweni police spokesperson, said Paarl Hospital informed the police of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn inquest docket has been opened and is being investigated by detectives,\u201d he said. \u201cNo foul play is suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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