A 20-year-old Lwamondo-Lukau woman is fighting for her life in hospital after a jilted lover ran amok, allegedly hitting her with a blunt instrument, before turning on her elder sister. Her sister was not so lucky as she was killed during the incident.

She is said to have suffered a fatal blow to the head after being struck with a heavy rock.

The alleged killer, who is said to be a local traditional leader's son and who is believed to  have been heavily intoxicated, is said to have fled the scene after the incident. The incident that left the community in a state of shock happened in the early hours of Sunday.

Death seems to frequent this family. In 2002, the family lost the mother, and the father followed in 2007. The children have been living on their own in abject poverty since the passing away of the parents. During Limpopo Mirror's visit to the family, community leaders were still holed up in a meeting, trying to chart the way forward and to seek ways on how they could assist the family in burying their loved one.

In an interview, the younger sister, Lorraine Sikhubuni, who  had survived the attack but  was still in bandages, said she was asleep in her room and her elder sister Nancy was in another room  when she received a call from a neighbour, who told her that her former husband was coming and that they should run away.

"When we lit the lights, he was already at the door and demanding that we open for him. Before I could realise what was happening, he was already in my room, strangling me and threatening to kill me," she said.

She said her sister came to the room and reprimanded the man, who did not listen to her. She said she ran outside, but he followed her and pinned her to the ground, where he continued to assault her.

"Fearing the worst, my sister came to rescue me by hitting him, whereupon he let me go. He picked up an object and chased after my sister, while I ran to my brother's house, which is not far from our home," she said.

She said she thought that her sister had also managed to run away. "I only came back to the scene after the arrival of the police and community members, and that was when I was told my sister had been killed," she said.

She said the whole incident had saddened her as her sister was just trying to protect her but ended up being killed for nothing. Limpopo police spokesperson Lt Col Mohale Ramatseba said they had opened a murder docket and that the investigation was continuing.

"This is very sad indeed. This man divorced me a long time ago and I had accepted this, but he wanted his love back without first talking to me, which I could not accept. My sister died for nothing and I feel guilty about what happened," she said.

She said it was not the first time he had attacked her, but she had been advised not to lay charges against him. "I regret not having laid charges against him. This would have not happened if I had followed my instincts," she said.

Mr Enos Mulaudzi, a community leader in the village, said they were worried about incidents of extreme violence in the village.  "Not long ago, we had another murder where a man was hacked to death by a known person. The man was arrested and the case is still continuing," he said.