“Her body may be gone, but her spirit lives forever.”
With those words, Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo’s brother, Odirile Morolo, captured the central feeling at a funeral filled with grief, memories and the painful reality of a family saying goodbye to a woman whose life was brutally cut short.
The 38-year-old is one of nine women whose deaths are being investigated in Ekurhuleni.
She disappeared after leaving her Kempton Park home for an afternoon run on Wednesday, September 10.
At her funeral on Sunday in Pankop township, Mpumalanga, her brother spoke about the woman they knew beyond the circumstances of her death, a sister, mother, daughter, colleague, and passionate runner whose presence remains deeply felt by those she left behind.
“And it is that spirit we speak of today,” said Morolo. “Because no single voice can carry the entirety of who she was to us. We bring her to you through our own eyes.”
Among the memories he shared was a phrase Elizabeth had repeated throughout her life: “Go tla loka” — It will be alright."
Morolo said they had heard the words so often that their significance was sometimes overlooked.
"She said it so often we barely noticed at the time of how profound it was. We understand it now. It was not simply comforting us, she was making a promise, and that promise still stands."
A life defined by running and home
Moselakgomo was known as a sports fanatic, with running particularly close to her heart.
Her routine was familiar to her family. She would finish work, go for her run and return home at a particular time.
It was a routine her eight-year-old daughter knew well.
When she failed to return from her run, it was her daughter who realised something was wrong and alerted relatives.
But her brother remembered that there was another place where his sister was happiest.
“And when the running was done for the day, there was one place where she always wanted to be: at the table on Sunday, in front of a proper plate of home-made Sunday kos,” he said.
“That table was her throne.”
‘How heartbreaking that you left me’
For her daughter, however, the funeral was not simply an occasion to remember her mother.
It was an opportunity for an eight-year-old child to speak directly to the mother she had lost.
Standing before mourners, she delivered an emotional tribute to her mother, describing the silence she left behind and the memories she would carry with her.
“Dearest mother, how heartbreaking that you left me,” she said, “The day feels quiet without your voice, but your love is still here.”
She spoke of the things she would no longer be able to experience with her mother, holding her hand and seeing her smile, while promising that the memories they had made together would remain with her.
The young girl also imagined looking towards the sky whenever she missed her mother, believing she would be watching over her.
“I wish I could hug you. I wish you can be here. But I carry you inside my heart, so you can always be nearby,” she said.
She ended her tribute by calling herself her mother's “beautiful daughter” and “princess”, telling Elizabeth how much she loved and missed her.
More than R230,000 raised for Tsontso's daughter
A fundraising campaign supporting the young daughter’s education and her family has raised more than R230 000, more than quadrupling its original target of R50,000.
The authorised BackaBuddy campaign had raised R233 300 by today, Sunday September 20.
According to the campaign page, the money will support the young daughter and her family following her mother’s death.
The Reidlee running community which Tsontso belonged to started the BackaBuddy fundraiser.
After Elizabeth’s passing, fellow runner Bonni Suckling reached out to BackaBuddy to see how she could support Elizabeth’s daughter. With help from Simbulele Jezile, Bonnie Suckling and a few fellow runners made the first donations and began sharing the campaign through their running circles.
The campaign states: "We as the Reidlee community have since stepped forward to work alongside this truly community-driven campaign, helping to take the initiative forward.
"While we cannot fill the space left by a parent, we can come together as a community to help provide something lasting: the gift of education and the opportunity for a brighter future.
With the support of Elizabeth’s family, an educational trust has since been established for her daughter. The funds raised through this campaign will be paid into the trust to support her educational journey in the years ahead.
"Our hope is that, through the generosity of friends, fellow runners and everyone whose life Tsontso touched, we can create a foundation that provides stability, opportunity and hope for her daughter’s future.
"No contribution is too small. Every donation brings us one step closer to ensuring that Tsontso’s daughter can continue her education and have the opportunity to pursue her dreams.
"For those who knew Tsontso, this is a chance to honour her memory in a way that will continue long after the finish line.
"Thank you for standing with Tsontso’s daughter and family, and for helping us turn our community’s love and support into a lasting legacy."
At her mother's funeral, the daughter had one final message for her.
“I wish I could hug you... but I know I have gained a beautiful angel. - IOL with additional reporting by The National