By Staff Reporter
CENTURION – The family of two siblings who were reported missing in Centurion has released their identities following the recovery of their bodies from the notorious Hennops River.
The victims have been identified as Galaletsang Mokone (23) and his sister, Gontse Lee Matjila (21). The siblings were last seen in the early hours of Sunday, 21 December 2025, sparking a large-scale search involving multiple emergency and law-enforcement agencies.
On Tuesday, 23 December, search teams located their Hyundai i30 submerged in the Hennops River. The vehicle was later recovered, and police confirmed that both siblings were found deceased.
According to police, Galaletsang and Gontse had been visiting friends in Centurion on Saturday night, 20 December. They lost contact with their family in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Their mother reportedly last spoke to Gontse during a video call at approximately 03:00.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the siblings may have left Centurion around 05:00, travelling back to their home in Ninapark, Pretoria North.
Tracker data placed their last known location near Rabie Street, close to the highway and the Hennops River.
The pair were officially reported missing later that Sunday afternoon at the Pretoria North police station. The case was subsequently transferred to Lyttelton SAPS for further investigation.
Search operations were initially hindered by heavy rainfall, rising water levels, and thick vegetation along the riverbanks.
Despite these challenging conditions, authorities persisted with the search until the tragic discovery was made.
Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.
