Death of single mother baffles community

The community of Tshitereke outside Thohoyandou had a rude awakening on Monday when one of the most industrious women in the area was found dead next to her house in the village.

At first, villagers thought she might have been attacked in her sleep by unknown attackers, only to find that she had probably been electrocuted by the washing line on the roof of her house. The washing line was very close to the electricity meter box, which made residents suspicious that this was the cause of the death.

Ms Rabelani Maphaha (39) worked very hard to make sure that her two children got the best in life. She was a single mother.

Her sister, Ms Nyawasedza Nentangaheni (56), said she spent quality time with Rabelani at her home in the same village on Sunday. "My sister was very happy and in high spirits and she told me about her son, who left for college at Malamulele the same day. We spoke of many things and I never thought I would not see her alive again. I am so saddened," she said.

Nentangaheni added that she was at home on Monday morning when a member of the community told her of the death and rushed to the house to find her lying there dead. "I could not go near her as I thought she had been attacked as she was alone at the time of her death."

She added that she later learnt that she had probably been electrocuted. "It pained me a lot to think of what would become of her two children. Who is going to look after them? Rabelani did not have a steady job, but sold things at the market and managed to take her children to school and take care of their other needs."

She further indicated that they were surprised that the electricity supply was still on when they arrived. "After regaining courage, I saw her body and her hand was very black and her upper body was also burnt," added Nentangaheni.

Ms Maphaha's daughter, Divhani Maphaha (17), said that her mother had been everything to them. "She took good care of us, even though she did not have a good job. She did not deserve to die this way,” said Divhani.

News - Date: 21 January 2017

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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