On the rampage

The disappearance and subsequent discovery of the body of a local school girl at Tshidzini outside Thohoyandou last week led to a chaotic and violent situation, with angry residents venting their feelings through acts of violence and destruction.

Ntshengedzeni Mabada (18), a Grade 12 pupil at a local secondary school, went missing a fortnight ago and was found dead in nearby bushes almost a week after her disappearance. Her body was in an advanced state of decomposition and the family was only able to identify her through her clothing and her school books, which were found next to her body.

The dead girl’s aunt, Ms Sylvia Thavhakhulu (55), said the family had reason to believe that she had been ritually murdered. “It is clear that she was ritually murdered. The flesh on her leg was peeled off and one of her breasts was also cut. We are greatly saddened by the incident. Besides the loss of a loved one, we still have many questions left unanswered."

Local civic leader Fhatuwani Tshamano called for calm. “We heard about the incident on Monday, and while we were still discussing the issue, we heard that a body had been found. We are appealing to those with information to come forth, so that the perpetrators can be brought to book,” he said.

The discovery the body has led the community to believe that the "ritual murder season is open again". A month ago, the body of a man was found floating in a local river. Residents who believed that the man was ritually murdered then also went on the rampage. Businesses were looted and burnt and there was virtually no schooling, and people could not go to work as roads were barricaded.

Residents claim as many as nine people have either gone missing without a trace or have been ritually murdered. They allege the Tshaulu police are either not doing their work or working in cahoots with the alleged ritual murderers. This has led to cases being transferred from the station and now being investigated by a task team at cluster level.

The latest discovery, that of the body at Tshidzini, has also led to the destruction of property in the area, with two taverns and other businesses being broken into and looted before being set alight. The situation calmed down last week. School children were able to go to school and it was business as usual until Tuesday this week.

After a week’s break, incidents of burning and destruction have been reported in the villages of Gaba, Tshidzini, Tshaulu and Matsika. Several businesses and households were reportedly looted and burnt during a day of terror on Tuesday.

One of those who suffered losses is tavern owner Daniel Nengovhela of Danaz Tavern at Matsika. He said  a mob numbering close to 100 from surrounding villages of Tshidzini, Tshifudi and others destroyed and burnt his property. "They did not know that I was the owner as they came from different villages. I think jealousy is behind the spate of destruction of businesses, and we are no longer safe as businesspeople. My loss is more than a half a million rand."

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Major Mashudu Malelo said the situation was calm but still tense, with some of the roads still barricaded and others with only one lane working. “We can confirm that a hardware store was looted and burnt down at Tshifudi and two houses burnt at Matsika, while a tavern and a shop were also broken into and burnt. We are patrolling the area and it remains to be seen if other properties were damaged during the night."

When we were going to press, nobody had been arrested, but Malelo promised that the police would not leave any stone unturned in the hunt for those involved. "We are also making an appeal to those who have information about goods stolen during the protests to come to the fore and help us arrest the perpetrators,” he said.

Malelo said they had opened an inquest docket in respect of the body found at Tshidzini.

News - Date: 14 September 2015

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.

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