16-year-old South African girl commits suicide after finding out she was conceived through rape

The family of a 16-year-old South African girl who died after drinking rat poison has revealed that she committed suicide after finding out she was born out of rape. 

Musa Tshabalala, a grade 10 learner at East Bank High School in Alexandra in Johannesburg, committed suicide on 17 April 2024 and her 78-year-old grandmother is currently struggling to bury her. 

Musa’s cousin, Buyisiwe Tshabalala, told a local publication, ZiMoja on Friday, May 3, that she believed that Tshabalala killed herself because she had never met her mother. 

“Musa’s upbringing was very sad. She was conceived through rape when her mother was only 12 years old. After she gave birth to Musa, she dumped her with her grandmother who raised her,” he said. 

“It was always bugging Musa that she never got to know her mother. When she found out that she was conceived through rape, she began asking a lot of questions and it broke her even more when she was told that the alleged rapist is a family member,” Tshabalala said.

Tshabalala told ZiMoja that weeks before Musa took her life, she wanted more answers on her alleged father and mother and that her grandmother was not free to share the information with her. 

“She felt like she was the reason her mother never came back home and what made things worse was the situation at home, Our grandmother is poor and was supporting her with a grant, which was not enough- things were bad,” she added. 

The grandmother is struggling to put money together to pay for Musa’s burial and is pleading for help.