Teen’s shocking claims before tragic death!
A TEENAGER tragically claimed she was kidnapped and raped before taking her own life.
The 17-year-old Athabile Khanyi alleged she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped by two men, a taxi rank manager and a taxi conductor.
It’s reported that the grade 11 pupil from Mkhaphu High School was abducted on 6 June and released on 9 June, after which she returned to her home at Maphaphetheni in Inanda, north of Durban.
Her aunt told Daily Sun that Athabile arrived home at about noon, and the family was upset about her disappearance.
“She told us that she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped by two men, a rank manager and a conductor. We didn’t believe her and told her to tell us the real reason why she returned on this day and where exactly she was. She then left us and went to her mother’s room,” said the aunt.
She said Athabile went to her mum’s room and later to a relative’s house.
“While she was at the relative’s house, her mother found a letter that she wrote stating that she was going to take her own life because she was raped. In the letter, she explained what happened and also wrote the names of the people who raped her.”
The aunt said they then rushed to look for her at their relatives’ house, and that’s where they found her sleeping.
“We woke her up, and she was very weak, and we saw that she had finished a bottle of painkillers. We then rushed her to a local clinic and on arrival, they immediately transferred her to the hospital.”
She said the girl spent almost three days in hospital, and she died on Thursday, 12 June.
“We were hoping that she’d recover but we were told that certain drugs were found in her body as well as the painkillers she overdosed. We suspect that the men drugged her before they raped her.”
The aunt said they want the suspects to be caught and arrested because they are known in the area.
KZN police spokeswoman Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed the matter, saying: “Police in Inanda have registered an inquest docket for investigation following an incident in which a 17-year-old girl allegedly killed herself at Maphephetheni on 12 June 2025.”
