The cruelty of death, coupled with the exotic thirst for human blood, has brought yet confusion in the Vhembe District.

This follows the brutal axe horror murder of four children whose bodies were discovered in pools of blood at Tshivhilidulu Village, near Siloam, on Wednesday last week. Ndivhuwo Tshilimandila (19), her cousins, Nyadzani (14), Shumani (10) and Lavhelesani (6) Sivhugwane, were found with gaping wounds on their necks and heads and a bloodied axe was found at the scene. Ndivhuwo’s body was found in the sitting room and the bodies of the three brothers were in their bedroom.

It is further suspected that that the 19-year-old girl was raped before she was murdered, because her underwear had been torn off. Community members also believe that the horrible murder could be the works of more than one person, because one person could not attack them all at once without one of the victim escaping.

The elder teenager, Ndivhuwo, was staying with the Sivhugwane brothers, because their parents spend much of their time in Gauteng. The gruesome discovery was made by a local boy who usually fetches them for the walk to school. The boy knocked at the door as there was no response, he peeped through the window and saw the most frightening scene of his life. It is suspected that the suspect entered the house through the window which does not have a handle.

When Mirror visited the Sivhugwane family at the once peaceful and quite Tshivhilidulu village, a dark cloud of anger and confusion hanged among family members who were visibly hurt and deeply affected by the incident.

The weeping father of the Sivhugwane brothers, Safania Sivhugwane said Mirror cannot speak to the family, because they are in deep mourning. “Speaking to the media will make our hearts more painful. This is a terrible loss and we no longer want to speak about this incident, because it will always remind us of our beloved kids. We want this chapter to be closed, because it has brought confusion and misery in our family…”

Captain Mashudu Malelo of the Vhembe Police said four counts of murder were registered with the police although no arrest was made at the time of going to press. He said police are looking forward to a breakthrough in the near future and he requested community members with information, to come forward.

Limpopo Premier, Sello Moloto condemned the incident and added that the government is seriously concerned about the high rate of murder cases in the Vhembe District. He appealed to community members to work hand in hand with the police to close the chapter on the unresolved murder cases.