The murdered man, Mr Funanani Mulaudzi of Gelebe Lwamondo. Photo supplied.
News in brief Date: 24 November 2023
The murder of a local resident in Lwamondo Gelebe outside Vuwani this past weekend has shocked and saddened the peaceful village.
The circumstances leading to the death of the man, later identified as Mr Funanani Mulaudzi (25), are still sketchy. Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said the incident happened on Sunday (19th) at around 03:00. “We responded to a complaint of murder at Tshilidzini Hospital, and upon arrival, found a male victim with a stab wound on his upper body. He was reportedly certified dead on arrival at the hospital,” he said.
Community leader Ms Luvhengo Susan Phosha said the incident had shocked the community. “Not much is known about the incident as it happened at night. What we managed to gather is that the deceased was with three other friends from a local beer garden when they came across two men on the street. We heard that there was an altercation between him and the two men. The deceased was apparently stabbed without his friends’ noticing. When he came running towards them, they also ran, not knowing he was stabbed,” she said.
Phosha said that after realising that their friend had been stabbed, the men had sought help from a nearby house, but upon seeing blood, the house owner had refused to let them in. “One of the friends ran home and fetched a car, taking him to the hospital, where he was certified dead on arrival.”
She said that they blamed much of this on late-night alcohol abuse in the village. “We are losing young lives we are grooming to be future leaders because of alcohol abuse. We just hope the police will do their work and arrest whoever is responsible. Looking at the time it happened, it must be local people, and this will make the job easier for the police,” Phosha said.
Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, described the dead man as a good person who had always been cleaning his home yard. “Even if he was a bad person, he did not deserve to be killed the way he was killed. We are so saddened,” said the neighbour.
The police are appealing for information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects. Anyone with information that can assist with the apprehension of the suspects is urged to contact Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or the nearest police station or the MySAPSApp.