By Doreen Mokgolo
- Babili Nyawuza’s body was found in a ditch with head wounds, stab injuries and her clothes torn off after drinking with her new lover.
- Her aunt said the man promised to take care of her but ended up killing her and leaving her eight children without a mother.
A Tsakani mother of eight was raped and murdered by a man she met just hours earlier at her grandmother’s funeral.
Babili Nyawuza’s body was found in a pool of blood in a ditch near a pedestrian bridge in Extension 8. Her head had been smashed, she had stab wounds and her skirt and underwear were ripped off.
The man she had met that day is believed to have killed her and left her body more than two kilometres from where they were last seen.
According to her aunt, Thoko Motaung, Babili left with the man to buy more alcohol at a nearby tavern, but it was closed. They walked to another tavern in the community, and that was the last time anyone saw her alive.
“From the blood trail and the state of her body, you can see he dragged her to the ditch and dumped her there,” said Motaung.
Neighbours who saw her earlier at the funeral recognised her body and alerted the family.
Babili’s house keys and the suspect’s hat were found at the scene.
“She was a mother of eight children. Who is going to look after them now?” said Motaung.
She said the man had spent the afternoon acting like a caring partner, even promising Babili that he worked at a mine and would look after her.
“We want him arrested. He is dangerous and must face the police. Why did he kill her? Why didn’t he just leave her?” she said.
Ekurhuleni Saps police spokesperson Captain Neldah Sekgobela confirmed that they are investigating a case of murder.
“No arrest has been made, we are pleading who may know his whereabouts to come forward,” she said.
Pictured above: Babili Nyawuza and her aunt Gogo Thoko Nyawuza.
Image source: Doreen Mokgolo
