Hundreds of mourners from Muraga and the surrounding villages converged at the Mavhulavhula family homestead at Muraga village outside Thohoyandou to pay their last respects to the dead Mavhulavhula couple.

The couple died when the husband hacked his wife to death with an axe before hanging himself from a tree at nearby bushes last week, after a minor argument. Alpheus Mavhulavhula (55) and Florence Mavhulavhula (43) were buried during an emotional service at the weekend.

Speaker after speaker at the funeral pleaded for assistance for the five orphaned children who have been left to fend for themselves.

Shumani Masindi, a sister of Florence, said she was worried about what would become of the children. “We have accepted our sister’s tragic death, but we are very worried about the future of her children. They are still young and have no one to look after them, and life will be very difficult for them,” she said.

Masindi said the family was very poor and has no means to any form livelihood. “We are making an appeal to all kind-hearted South Africans to open up their hearts to the kids, so that they grow up to be responsible members in the community. This will be a fitting tribute to their dead mother,” she pleaded.

The local traditional leader, Khosi Vho Ntikedzeni Muraga Mphapuli, said the incident should serve as a lesson to all community members. “Let us all share our problems with friends and relatives. We cannot just keep quiet and make life look as normal when we have problems,” he said.

He urged all community structures to intensify the war against the scourge of family murders. “Problems occur behind closed doors where police, traditional leadership and other community structures fail to detect them. It is only people who live nearby who know of the problems, and they should make them known to other members of the community, so that they can be attended to immediately,” he said.

Muraga said he was encouraged by the unity displayed by the community. “Extend the love you have shown to the family to all in the village and we will have development in the village,” he said. Muraga expressed dissatisfaction about the part of the local municipality who failed to clear the road for mourners to have access to the family homestead. He said letters were submitted to the municipality, but nothing was done to improve the situation. “I fully support the municipality’s programmes. I was the first one in the municipality to have a cordial working relationship with the municipality and I did not expect this from them,” he said.

Mr Phineas Mavhulavhula, brother of the deceased Alpheus, made a plea to the community to help raise the orphaned kids. “I am already burdened with my own 15 children and the ones left by my brothers will be an added burden; they need assistance,” he said. He said he would try whatever possible to make them feel loved but the fact that he was not working would count against them. “I am not working and am struggling to make ends meet. The children need all our help and support,” he said.