Prince David Nemavhola laid to rest after being stabbed to death

Members of the Nemavhola royal house gathered at Matangari Tshiendeulu tsha Ha Nemavhola on Friday, 15 December, to pay their last respects to Prince Khumbudzo David Mulibana Nemavhola (38), who was stabbed to death in Matangari village two weeks ago. The prince was allegedly killed for refusing to provide the suspect with free sorghum beer as the suspect was said to have had an outstanding account that he was expected to settle first. The incident occurred on Saturday, 9 December.

According to the Vhembe police’s acting communications manager, W/O Vuledzani Dathi, the deceased was at his homestead on Saturday, 9 December, selling sorghum beer when the suspect arrived. “It is alleged that the suspect owed the deceased an amount of R28. A heated argument allegedly ensued between the two. The deceased allegedly took the suspect’s cellphone and told him he would return it after the suspect had settled the beer bill. The suspect allegedly left with a message that an EMS car and a pathologist would come to the deceased's house that night,” said Dathi.

According to the police report, at about 21:00 that night, the suspect went to the deceased’s homestead, carrying a pickaxe, and started to provoke the deceased, demanding his cellphone. “A Zimbabwean national, who was at the scene at the time, tried to separate the two men, but he was stabbed in the chest with the pickaxe and fell down unconscious. The suspect proceeded to stab the deceased with the pickaxe. The deceased was certified dead at the scene, while the Zimbabwean victim was taken to the local medical facility for treatment,” said Dathi.

The suspect, Nkhumeleni David Nyamande, was later traced and arrested by the police. He appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 12 December. His case was postponed to 27 December for further police investigations.

During the funeral service, the late Nemavhola’s older brother, Mr Thifhelimbilu Mulibana Nemavhola, called on members of the community not to take the law into their own hands and to allow the police to do their work. “Our hearts are broken, but we believe that the justice system will not fail us and that the suspect will rot in jail,” he said.

Date:21 December 2023

By: Victor Mukwevho

Victor Mukwevho Ne-vumbani joined the Mirror during it's inception in 1990. He joined the SABC newsroom in 1995, and was known by  listeners as "A u fhedzisela ari". He was a news editor for The Tembisan Newspaper from 2007 to 2015. He rejoined the Limpopo Mirror newspaper in June 2022 as a freelance journalist.

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