As I Sit And Weep For Karabo, I Wish I'd Spoken Up Sooner

The brutal killing of 22-year-old Karabo Mokoena in April rocked us all. But it also hit a personal chord with actress Sonia Mbele – a friend of Mokoena’s and a victim of abuse herself. Now, for the first time, Sonia is speaking out publicly. Here’s what she has to say.

- Sarah Browning-De Villiers

‘I ’ll never forget the first time I met Karabo. She had this aura about her that was impossible to ignore. She’d walked in late to a weekly prayer meeting I was a part of in Rivonia, Jo’burg, three-and-a-half years ago. Worship had already started but there was something about her that distracted me: her spirit was somehow bigger; she was special. She sat behind me at that meeting, and I kept turning around just to take a look. She was beautiful and elegant, wearing a doek and a flowy dress.

‘At every meeting, people are invited to testify so we can pray for one another – and she got up that evening and spoke. She shared how she was seeking a higher power, and that she felt she’d come to the right place. As she shared, I got a sense of her sadness: she talked about how she felt misunderstood by some people. At the end of the meeting, I went up to her and gave her a hug. I wanted her to know that she’d found a home here, a safe place. That’s what our prayer meeting was all about: a chance to encourage one another.

‘After just a few weeks of meetings, Karabo and I became fast friends. She was easy to get along with, embracing and welcoming. We exchanged numbers and she asked me to be her mentor: she was hoping to get into the entertainment industry. She dreamt of having her own talk show one day – of being a South African Tyra Banks.

‘As time went on, we both got busy. Last year, filming for a project took up every ounce of my time,so I couldn’t get to our prayer meetings for nine months. Even then, Karabo and I talked and met up for coffee as often as possible – often once a month.