Eastern Cape Community Shaken After Unidentified Teenager’s Body Found in Sterkspruit School Toilet
- Police have opened an inquest docket after an unidentified teenage girl's body was found in a school toilet
- A Sterkspruit community member described how the community was shaken up by the discovery
- The victim, whom no one in the Palmietfontein village knows, was found in a toilet before school began
Source: Twitter
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
EASTERN CAPE – The community of Palmietfontein village in Sterkspruit are still left with more questions than answers after the discovery of a dead body inside one of the school’s toilets.
The body of an unknown teenage girl was discovered in a toilet at the Telle Junction Primary School. The body was discovered on the first day of the 2026 school year, when learners returned to school.
Community member says residents are deeply disturbed
Fikile Phezolo, a community member from Sterkspruit, told TimesLIVE that residents of Palmietfontein village were deeply disturbed by the tragedy.
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He explained that the girl’s body was discovered in the grade R toilets after a cleaner was instructed to clean them before the pupils arrived. The victim is believed to be between 14 and 16 years old.
“She was found sitting in one of the toilets, and we are struggling to understand how her body got there because the school was locked during the holidays. There is also security at the school, but the guard said he did not see anything,” Phezolo explained.
He added that the village was still grappling with the news, as they had never experienced a case like that before in the area. He also said they hoped the story would get out, so that if any family members were searching for the girl, they would be alerted to it.
The teenager has not been identified
Despite the teenager’s body being found a week ago, no family member has come forward to identify her, and no one in the community knows her.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, also confirmed that no visible injuries were observed when police first found the body.
Lieutenant Colonel Mawisa also said that preliminary investigations did not yield any leads, and there was no missing person reported in the village. An inquest docket has since been opened, as investigations begin into establishing who the victim is and the cause of death.
Other stories about bodies found in toilets
Briefly News reported that there have been other stories over the years of bodies being discovered in toilets.
- A little girl lost her life after falling into a pit latrine at a primary school in Glen Grey village, Eastern Cape, in March 2023.
- An investigation was launched after a toddler died from his injuries when he fell into a pit toilet in East London in April 2024.
- The KwaZulu-Natal Social Development department called for calm after a two-year-old’s body was discovered in a pit latrine in June 2024.
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Source: Briefly News
