Community members and family members from both the Nemufulwi and Nduvheni clans packed the small Court B at Mutale on Wednesday last week. This was during the appearance of a well known traditional leader, who was charged with murder.

Headman Edzisani Frank Nemufulwi (72), of Mufulwi village near Mutale, briefly appeared in the packed Mutale Magistrate court after he had allegedly strangled his girlfriend to death in what is believed to be a love affair gone sour.

The murder, which allegedly occurred on Monday evening two weeks ago, left the whole community con-fused.

Nemufulwi is alleged to have fallen in love with the deceased, Mukondeleli Nduvheni (42), who was married to another man in the village. Their love affair has been described as violent from the onset, as they used to quarrel all the time. It is alleged that on the day in question, the two quarreled and a struggle ensued, during which the accused overpowered the deceased before throt-tling her to death.

The community of Mufulwi and the sur-rounding villages such as Ngalavhani and Gwangwatini are still in a state of shock as it was claimed the deceased had consumed poison, but it later emerged that she was bleeding from the mouth and ears and her hand had also been broken. To complicate the matter, subjects look up to a traditional leader for a good life and protection, but he is the one suspected of killing one of his subjects.

Ms Nndidzulafhi Nduvheni, the de-ceased’s elder sister, was still shocked about her sister’s death and said she nearly fainted when she heard her sister had collapsed and died in a fight with her boyfriend.

“We are saddened by her death as a family because we were still awaiting good things from her. She was a straight talker in the Nduvheni’s family; she spoke and stood for the truth in everything,” said Nduvheni.

This happened barely six months after one of the Nduvheni family’s children died under mysterious circumstances. Rejoice Nduvheni (32) died last year November when she was allegedly stabbed to death in her house in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Rejoice’s murder case has still not been solved by the police.

Nndidzulafhi is also worried that the deceased has left a disabled child who will need parental care. Thabelo Nduvheni (24) is a disabled young man who is always in a wheelchair. “Who is supposed to take care of him, because we are staying far away from him?” asked Nduvheni.

Police spokesperson in Mutale Tshilidzi Nnyambeni confirmed they are investigating a murder case. According to Nnyambeni, it is al-leged that the suspect (Nemufulwi) and the deceased (Nduvheni) quarreled at Nemufulwi’s house, but apparently Nemufulwi overpowered her and throttled her to death.

“The deceased was discovered with blood running from her nose and ears and she had also sustained some injuries to her throat and left leg,” said Nnyam-beni.

The suspect was charged with murder and he was not asked to plead. His case was postponed.