Community demand action after mother of two is murdered

The family of Nhlamulo Masangu of Mphakati in Malamulele say they have more questions than answers concerning the death of their daughter. The body of Masangu (23), a mother of two, was found in some bushes on Sunday, far from her home.

According to the people who found the body, it was covered in blood with several visible wounds.

This is the second murder in less than two months involving young  people in the area. On 19 October, a 19-year-old Malamulele high school pupil, Thulani Gezani, was allegedly killed and his body was found hanging from a pole at the Malamulele shopping centre. Police later arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the incident.

Narrating her ordeal, the mother of the deceased, Ms Rose Masangu, told Limpopo Mirrorthat her daughter had told her the previous day that she was experiencing boyfriend trouble. On Sunday morning, Nhlamulo’s body was found outside the village.

The news of Nhlamulo's death was greeted with great anger by the community of Mphakati. On Monday, just after this paper had visited the bereaved family, angry community members marched about 5km from Mphakati to Shigalo and demanded that Chief James Shigalo organise a meeting to discuss the escalating crime in the area.

There was heavy police presence at the tribal offices, but this did not scare the protestors, who were toyi-toying outside the premises with the police watching. “We are not coming to fight. We want the chief, our father, to tell us when we are going to meet to discuss crime,” said the protestors.

Angry women from Mphakati were joined by their Shigalo counterparts. “When Rose cries, we also cry. Her tears are not water,” said one angry woman.

On Monday, they gathered at the Chief's place, but a meeting was arranged for Tuesday where they told the chief about the escalating crime in the village. They demanded that everyone they suspected of being involved in crime should be expelled from the village.

The chief advised them that it should be done in accordance with the law and that a letter should be written to the magistrate.

News - Date: 12 December 2014

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Email: