A 31-year-old mother of two died a painful death when her former lover allegedly mercilessly stoned her to death at Vondwe village, north of Thohoyandou, last Friday.

Community members watched in horror as the badly damaged and bloodied body of Thivhavhudzi Florence Nendauni was loaded onto the hearse, in what is believed to be one of the most horrible incidents ever to take place in the formerly peaceful village.

The suspect, Lufuno Mulovhedzi (31), was charged with murder when he appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The case was postponed to November 7 for further investigations. The suspect will remain in custody.

Mirror has reliably learnt that the couple was no longer staying together, but the suspect insisted on having custody of their two children. Although their case was already being investigated by officials of the social services, the suspect kept on visiting the deceased, further demanding custody of the children.

Regional police spokesperson Capt Mashudu Malelo said the suspect went to his former lover’s place at about 11:30 on Friday. "He demanded to see her, but she refused. He came back again in the afternoon and demanded to talk to her again. When he realized that she was serious about not communicating with him, he slapped her several times."

Malelo said the victim retaliated by picking up a hand hoe and hitting the suspect. "Although she did not hack him, the suspect fell down and the victim ran away. The suspect then got up and ran after her. He then picked up a spade and allegedly hit her. Thereafter, he allegedly picked up stones and hit her without mercy. Another stone hit her on the head and she fell into the neighbour’s yard. The suspect then allegedly hit her with more stones while she was on the ground until she died."

Malelo urged community members to resolve their problems peacefully, rather than engage in violence. "People must seek professional help whenever they have family problems. There is no use to engage in violence because this leads to crimes of this nature."

In another case of alleged abuse against a young girl, a 44-year-old police inspector, based in Thohoyandou, briefly appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court last week Friday (September 28) in connection with a charge relating to the rape a 14-year-old girl.

It is alleged that the suspect was at the victim‘s home in Tshisaulu village on Monday, September 24, drinking beer with the victim’s mother. It is also alleged that the mother later went to her neighbour to watch soccer and left the two alone.

Malelo told Mirror that the suspect allegedly followed the young girl when she went to the bathroom and raped her. It is alleged that he gave her R50 and promised to give her another R50 later.

Malelo said the girl’s young sister saw the two inside the house and told her mother what had happened. He added that when her mother asked about what had happened, the 14-year-old girl admitted that she had been raped. "The mother confronted the suspect, who admitted and apologised," Malelo added.

A rape case was opened and the suspect was arrested last Wednesday when he reported for duty. He has since appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court and was released on bail of R3 000. The suspect will again appear in court on November 1.

A spokesperson of the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program, Ligudu Rendani, said that in September, 63 rape charges and 88 charges of domestic violence have been reported.

Ligudu said it is sad to learn that people are still abused by family members who should be protecting them against abuse.