Our son Thapelo Maropefela, well known as an actor on the show The Kingdom, was tragically murdered on the eve of his 25th birthday. He was found unresponsive on Sunday 25 October in his Airbnb apartment in Fairlands, Johannesburg following an attack that left him with critical injuries. This is a great loss for our family and we want justice for our son.

On the evening of Saturday the 24th of October, trouble ensued when one of Thapelo’s friends reportedly angered security guards outside a pub. When Thapelo tried to help his friend, the guards assaulted him by kicking him as he was laying down. The injuries received in this assault later led to his untimely death. Thapelo did not deserve to die!

We want the people responsible for Thapelo’s death to be brought to justice. His murderers are still walking free. Thapelo’s death was uncalled for and it brought a lot of pain for our family. We want to turn this pain into power knowing his perpetrators are behind bars. We’ll never see him again but his legacy is with us and we need justice to prevail. It’s unsettling knowing his life was taken and the people responsible are not being held accountable. His life doesn’t have to be a statistic. 

We want #JusticeForThapeloMaropefela! 

Sign our petition to the National Prosecuting Authority, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) of Gauteng and Jeppe Police Station asking for:

• The Jeppe Police Station to conduct investigations into Thapelo’s death.
• An arrest warrant to be issued and enforced against the security guards that attacked Thapelo and for their bail to be denied.
• To obtain Justice for Thapelo by making sure that the people responsible are prosecuted and serve the maximum sentence.