The Tshibata Ntavhanyeni family at Maniini-Tshikovha outside Thohoyandou has become synonymous with mysterious deaths.

In 2007, the family was dealt a terrible blow when their Grade 1 daughter was raped and died under mysterious circumstances. At the time, a suspect was arrested, but later released due to lack of evidence.

Last week was second time unlucky for the family. They again lost a son under mysterious circumstances. The death of Livhuwani Tshibata Ntavhanyeni (22), a Grade 9 learner at at Thivhilaeli Secondary School, has left many sore hearts in the village. The death adds to the ever increasing number of deaths in the Thulamela area that leave many questions unanswered.

After news of his disappearance and subsequent discovery of his body became known, residents quickly assembled at the local chief´s residence for a meeting. The angry villagers demanded that the family of the man suspected in the killing , leave the area.

Granny Mudangawe Nemakwelengwe, the mother of the suspect told the local traditional leader that she would not move, even if it meant her being killed. It took the effort of Thohoyandou Station commissioner, Brig Rosinah Mulaudzi and her team to persuade her to leave the area until the situation cools down.

Mulaudzi had intervened after learning that the community was angry and that they wanted to take the law into their own hands. The granny finally obliged and she was helped to take her goods away.

Narrating the sad ordeal the family is experiencing, Daphne Tshibata Ntavhanyeni, the deceased’s sister said the family was heartbroken. She said her brother came back from school on that particular Friday. “My brother was in good spirits when he came back from school. He told me that he was going to hang around with his friends at the local tavern and that was the last we saw and heard of him.”

She added that they did not worry as they thought he might have slept out. “We became very worried when Saturday passed without any word about his whereabouts. On Sunday we felt it has gone too far, that is when we went to the police and opened a missing person docket,” she said.

She said on Wednesday they heard that he was last seen with a man who lived in the neighbourhood. The community decided to search the neighbouring bushes and the body was finally discovered at the nearby Luvuvhu River.

“My brother was killed, there is no way that he could have lost his way and ended up at the river. He had visible wounds all over his body which shows that he was attacked and killed and his body dumped at the river,” she said.

She said they had planned to give her brother a surprise birthday party as he would have celebrated his 23rd birthday on Saturday. “Instead of celebrating his birth we are forced to bury him. We do not even have money for the burial. This is very painful and will leave a very sore wound in our hearts."

The local traditional leader, Chief Gilbert Tshikovha said the whole incident has disturbed him. “We had a meeting here and by the look of things the community is very angry. Anything could happen, but what we did was to calm them to give police the chance to conduct their investigations."

The local civic chairperson, Ms Tshimangadzo Mukomafhedzi called for calm in the village.

Munna Ndi Nnyi Men’s Forum chairperson, Mr Bardwell Mufunwaini said he was concerned about the high number of mysterious deaths in the Vhembe area. “We have lost many people recently and in most cases we have had no arrests. We need peace in this area; this community is sick and there is a total disregard for human life,” he said.

The Thohoyandou police spokesperson, Capt Mashudu Malelo confirmed the discovery of the body. He said they have changed the inquest docket to murder. "The post mortem results are out and they revealed that he was murdered. We are appealing to anybody who has any information about the incident to contact us," he said.