Pretoria - A leader, father, and a humble man who was always smiling and joking are just a handful of comments that have come flooding in at the news of the death of the principal of HL Setlalentoa Secondary School in Ga-Rankuwa.
Moses Kadiege, 56, was reported missing on Saturday when he failed to return to his home in Brits after he had left to visit friends.
Early Sunday morning it was reported that Kadiege's dead body was found dumped in a bushy area in Winterveldt, north of Pretoria.
Gauteng Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello confirmed that the police were investigating a case of murder following the discovery of the body.
"The police are investigating a case of murder after a body of a man was discovered at Winterveldt in a bushy area next to the road on September 25," she said.
Sello added: “The motive of the murder is unknown at this stage, and police in Loate will continue with investigations."
Following news of Kadiege's death, social media has been flooded with messages of shock, disbelief and fond comments from friends, residents, and business owners in the area that came across him daily.
Many described him as not just a good school principal but as a humble man, who exemplified what a true leader was in the community.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and officials from the Tshwane West District visited the school and the family to offer their prayers and condolences to the colleagues, learners and family.
Lesufi said upon hearing the news of the principal's death he had spoken to and urged law enforcement agencies to prioritise investigations into the killings of educators in the province as this was the seventh loss the province had suffered.
"I am not getting feedback from the police on how far they are with the previous six principals who were killed because we can't allow this to be a situation that we just accept. This is evil people at work and if we can't stop them we don't know who is next."
He said he was saddened that he had come to the family home without information or any news of what happened but that he wanted the police to act speedily, to ensure this was not just another death to be ignored.
Lesufi said the ruthless killings of educators were not the work of God and instead that of the devil that had to be curbed to ensure that the province did not lose valuable educators and could still attract the best to Gauteng schools.
"There is a serious trend to affect those that are in our schools and that is why as a government we can't just say it's a problem. We need to protect our educators and we're looking at various systems to protect our staff."
Pretoria News