By Songeziwe Mapukata
The Nomaphelana family could not have imagined a worse start to the year, as their 18-year-old daughter was raped and stabbed more than 20 times on Sunday night.
Sinelizwi Nomaphelana left her home in the village of Ntsundwane in Ngqeleni on the first night of the year to celebrate with her siblings.
Sinelizwi’s aggrieved aunt Phuthuma Nomaphelana told Scrolla.Africa that the kids had gone out to the local tavern as a trio but only two came home later that night at around 2am.
“They said she remained behind with her boyfriend when I asked them why they’d left her behind,” she said.
Phuthuma said that when she called Sinelizwi’s boyfriend that night, he told her that he was going to stay at the tavern so she decided to brave the route home alone.
She believes that her niece may have been raped and killed on her way home.
One of the respondents on the scene was the local ward councillor Zilindile Hibhane, who said he battled to get sleep that night after seeing the victim’s body.
“The child had 19 stab wounds at the front, and then eight more stab wounds on her back part of the body,” the councillor told Scrolla.Africa.
Another angry community member took to social media lambasting the community for its failure to display intolerance against the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV).
Ongeziwe Soqhayiya alleges that there was another incident where an elderly woman was murdered, which she says the community and its leaders largely ignored.
“Although the culprit who killed that child is known, there is nothing that’s going to be done to him at all,” she wrote.
Next to the lifeless body, community members found a wallet believed to belong to the culprit in question.
SAPS did not respond to Scrolla.Africa’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Pictured above: Sinelizwi Nomaphelana
Image source: Supplied
