By Buziwe Nocuze
Phelokazi Marerane, 28, was at home in Nyanga township when her ex-boyfriend, the father of her baby, arrived and a short while later brutally strangled and stabbed her to death.
Phelokazi’s brother, who did not want to be named, told Scrolla.Africa that her baby daddy had asked for a place to sleep.
“Since he is her baby daddy, she couldn’t let him wander around [the area] because it is dangerous,” he said.
But after he got into the house, he started fighting with the victim.
“I don’t know what they were fighting about, but I think the baby daddy wanted love and my sister didn’t want that.
“We know they came out of her room because we found her lying outside. He strangled her in the yard before cutting her throat and stabbing her in the ear and neck,” her brother said.
News about Phelokazi’s death at about 3am on Monday 15 April spread and community members started searching for the killer.
On Tuesday, they found the body of the suspect — he had hanged himself in a shack.
“We don’t know if we will ever heal. The worst part is that her killer won’t pay for what he did. Killing himself was too easy. He would have spent the rest of his life in jail,” said her brother.
“Phelokazi depended on piece jobs. We don’t know how we will bury her. We will be grateful if we can get assistance.”
In another incident of gender-based violence, a woman died after being butchered by her husband at her house in eNdlovini, Khayelitsha, on Friday.
Community members found the body of the victim lying in a pool of blood.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk confirmed Phelokazi’s death and the murder of the woman in Khayelitsha, and that police were investigating both murder cases.
No arrests have been made yet in the Khayelitsha murder, and the investigation continues.
Pictured above: Phelokazi Marerane.
Image source: Supplied
