At least a year has passed since the gruesome murder of Mrs Jane Magadani from Lwamondo-Matule village. To date, no one has been held accountable for her death and the family members are getting frustrated with the way the case is being handled.

Ms Magadani's head was crushed with a stone in April last year, allegedly by her partner, after a quarrel. Prior to the murder, the suspect appeared to be mentally unstable and the family believed that the death could have been avoided if  the authorities had acted in time. After the incident, the suspect tried to cut his own throat in an apparent suicide attempt. He was rushed off to hospital where he later recovered.

According to family members, a neighbour alerted the police prior to the incident after hearing the suspect quarrelling with the deceased. The police apparently went out to investigate, but only told the alleged suspect that there was a man accusing him of wanting to kill someone. The police then allegedly forced the neighbour to apologise to the suspect, since they were convinced that he never wanted to kill anyone and that it was merely an argument.

Following the murder, the suspect was arrested by the Vuwani police. The case was set to appear in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court.

The deceased's brother, Bishop John Mutula, complained that his sister had been brutally killed in an evil manner and the family wanted the authorities to bring the perpetrator to book. He insisted that, after the funeral last year, the investigative officer who was handling the case, the station commissioner, and a member of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) promised that they would not rest until the suspect was in custody.

“I was told that the suspect was released and I even called the suspect’s nephew on the phone and he confirmed that, because I asked him to let me to talk to the suspect,” he said. He added that he wanted to consult with the MEC for Safety and Security and the provincial police commissioner, because he did not understand why the suspect had been released. 

The spokesperson for the Vuwani Police spokesperson, W/O Elijah Malatjie, said the suspect was released on bail. He mentioned that the suspect was mentally disturbed.

According to Malatjie, murder cases are transferred to a special unit and this case had not disappeared. “The investigating officer and the prosecutor had been communicating with the family about this case and it is currently in the Thohoyandou High Court,” he said.