Family of slain Ga-Rankuwa principal held onto hope he'd been kidnapped, could be saved

The family of a North West school principal who went missing at the weekend was holding onto the faint hope that he had been kidnapped and could be rescued.

But Moses Kadiege was found dead at Winterveldt in Gauteng on Sunday. The police have opened a murder inquiry.

The 56-year-old principal of HL Setlalentoa Secondary School at Ga-Rankuwa in Pretoria left his Brits home on Saturday morning to visit friends.

Family spokesperson and friend Ernest Hlungwani said they are trying to find out what happened.

“I think the details are still sketchy. He disappeared on Saturday. What I have heard is that the wife called him about 10, that was the last time they spoke to him and thereafter the phones were off,” he said.

Hlungwani, who had been friends with Kadiege for more than 30 years, said he met the family at the Ga-Rankuwa pathology unit to identify his body.

The family told him Kadiege had injuries consistent with physical blows from a fight and appeared to have suffered bleeding in the abdomen.

“It's starting to sink in that we have lost him. I think we had some slight hope that he might be kidnapped and we might still find him, but unfortunately later on last night [Sunday] we discovered he is gone.

“It's really sad for the family and everybody who was close to him.”

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited the school and the family on Monday.

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