“We Are Mourning, We Are Angry”: Women for Change Grieves Loss of Cameron Waldeck-Cooks

• Cameron Waldeck-Cooks, a Grade 11 pupil at St Stithians Girls' College, was found dead at a Sabie lodge on 2 August 2026
• A post-mortem confirmed she died from strangulation and suffocation, prompting police to upgrade the case to murder
• Women For Change marked Women's Day 2026 by mourning Cameron and calling out South Africa's GBV crisis

Cameron Waldeck-Cooks was 17 years old, a netball star, a Grade 11 pupil at St Stithians Girls' College in Sandton, and well on her way to earning the gold level of The President's Award for Youth Empowerment. She had travelled to Sabie, Mpumalanga, with two families on a hiking trip to fulfil part of that goal. She never made it home.

On the morning of 3 August 2026, Cameron's lifeless body was discovered inside a room at a holiday lodge in Sabie. In the same room, the body of 19-year-old Ethan Coetzee, a recent matriculant from St Stithians Boys' College, was also found. Graham Coetzee discovered both teenagers unresponsive. Police were called, and an inquest docket was opened.

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Ethan Coetzee’s family breaks silence as Cameron’s death is probed as murder

In the days that followed, Cameron's parents, Derrick Cooks and Claire Waldeck-Cooks, commissioned an independent forensic pathologist to conduct a private post-mortem. The findings were devastating. Cameron had been strangled and suffocated. The state's own post-mortem confirmed the same conclusion.

On 7 August 2026, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo announced that the inquest had been formally reclassified as a murder investigation. Evidence suggests a murder-suicide, with Ethan Coetzee alleged to have taken his own life after killing Cameron.

Her parents broke their silence on the same day, describing Cameron as a young woman of quiet strength, warmth and determination. They asked the public to stop speculating while forensic investigations were still ongoing.

Women For Change mourns on Women's Day

On 9 August 2026, South Africa's Women's Day, Women For Change published a post in Cameron's memory on their TikTok page. The organisation, founded in 2016 by Sabrina Walter and known for its campaigns against gender-based violence and femicide, said it could not celebrate while girls were still losing their lives to violence.

"This Women's Day, we are not celebrating. We are mourning. We are angry. And we are reminded, once again, of how urgently we need change," the organisation wrote.

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Ntsiki Mazwai reacts to St Stithians teen Cameron Waldeck-Cooks' family statement

Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile also responded publicly, calling Cameron's death a national loss and urging society to take collective responsibility for protecting children beyond school walls.

Mzansi grieves for Cameron

South Africans responded with heartbreak on the Women For Change post:

@mia joyce wrote:

"We miss you, my friend! ❤️"

@LOVIE💕 said:

"This is so sad and devastating, I can't imagine what she went through that night! Rest in power my angel! #JusticeforCameron"

@lesedi rams shared:

"She was so beautiful, omg 😔"

@Aaleyah Shahzad said:

"Such a beautiful girl!! Prayers of love and strength to her family. May she Rest In Peace!!"

@feelmoregoodness wrote:

"Teenagers 💔"

A memorial service honouring Cameron's life is scheduled to take place later in August 2026. See Women For Change's tribute to Cameron here.

More on Cameron Waldeck-Cooks

• Briefly News recently reported on Gauteng MEC Lebogang Maile's strong message following Cameron Waldeck-Cooks' death, raising difficult questions about responsibility beyond the school environment.
• A video of Cameron sharing a light-hearted moment with friends surfaced just days before her death, offering a deeply personal glimpse of the teenager.
• Meanwhile, a close friend of Cameron's shared a heartfelt tribute on social media, as her brother also released a public statement that left South Africans in tears.

Source: Briefly News