The Nekuvule family, whose child was viciously stoned to death by a gang of 14 young men at Ha-Matsa on the evening of October 28, last year, is now outraged, after the Thohoyandou High Court this month let the gang off the hook on the murder charge.

According to the deceased’s mother, Mrs Sarah Nekuvule of Mamvuka Village, when her son, Goodman Mashudu Nekuvule was attacked, he was in the company of three friends and his elder brother, Dovhani. She said that because the deceased was not familiar with the village (Matsa), the gangs chased and caught him. Dovhani alleged that while they were trying to relocate his younger brother, after they had all run in different directions when they were attacked, Albert Muthelo (one of the witnesses who saw the suspects chasing the deceased) told them that he had heard someone screaming for help next to his kraal.

“When we arrived on the scene, I saw my younger brother lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely. While taking him to the local clinic, we stopped a police van which was passing,” he said. Dovhani further claimed that, together with the police, they went to the kraal of one of the suspects, who is known to Mirror, who confessed to stoning Goodman and who further disclosed the names of his fellow gang members in the presence of the police. They were all arrested the same evening, according to Dovhani.

The worried mother, Sarah, claimed that when the case was transferred to the Thohoyandou High Court, she was surprised to see only three suspects appearing before the court. “I still don't understand why those 11 suspects were no longer appearing in the court. I was informed verbally before the finalisation of the case that no witness was going to testify.

On the judgement day in October 2005, one of the witnesses, Albert Muthelo, was arrested in court by the police,” she said. According to Sarah, the trio was discharged after the court claimed that there was not enough evidence to link them with the murder charge. “If these gangs cannot be linked with the murdering of my son, why are the police are not investigating further? How can they get enough evidence without finding witnesses to testify in court?” she complained.

Capt Mashudu Malelo of the Vhembe SAPS said that his office will investigate the matter, adding that the family will be kept informed about the investigations. When Goodman was brutally killed, he was a Grade 11 student at Dimbanyika Secondary School.