Pupils from Makumbane Primary School at Tshisahulu outside Thohoyandou came in their numbers to pay their last respects to one of their own.

This was during the funeral service on Saturday of Mbuelo Ramalivhana (7) of Tshisahulu-Itsani, who was burnt beyond recognition last week during a fire that also completely gutted the house his family stayed in. The Grade I pupil became a casualty of his mother’s lover´s fury, which went out of control. He went berserk, dousing the house where they had been sleeping with fuel before setting it alight.

Two family members managed to run to safety, while the mother of the children, Thabelo Ramalivhana (42), who had suffered third-degree burns, later died in hospital.

The funeral was held amidst calls by residents to the police that they should act decisively against criminals who have taken the village hostage, or the community will take the law into its hands.

Speaking at the funeral, the chairperson of Munna Ndi Nnyi Men’s Forum, a non-governmental and non-profit organization which champions the rights of children and women and moulds men to be responsible, Mr Bardwell Mufunwaini, said the community had had enough of the killings. “We are doing all we can to make people aware of the crimes that are happening in their midst. The police are doing their best to apprehend the criminals, but we seem to be fighting a losing battle because people prefer to keep quiet, rather than give evidence that could help in building cases against criminals."