Police recognise gross negligence in actions

A 25-year-old Tshikwarani man allegedly stabbed a Grade10 pupil to death at his home, while police officers allegedly hesitated to act outside the room. The incident took place on 9 January.

It is alleged that Tuwani Fhetani (20) screamed for help from inside the accused’s room until the police officers, community members and family members of the accused could hear her voice no more. When the police finally forced the door open, they found Tuwani lifelessly on the floor.

According to the information provided by the police and community members, it is alleged that Tuwani was abducted by Lufuno Madume on 8 January, while she was on her way from school. It is said that while held captive in Madume’s room, she cried all night. Madume’s mother apparently tried to notify the SAPS at Tshilwavhusiku about the incident. It is alleged that her phone calls went unanswered and she phoned again in the morning, but the police only arrived at about 08:30.

According to the deceased’s family, when the police called Madume, he immediately came out, only clothed in his underwear. “People who were at the nearby SASSA re-registration site told us that they heard someone screaming. By the time the police forced the door open, it was too late.”

The provincial spokesperson for the SAPS, Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, said that there was gross negligence on the part of the members of the SAPS who attended to the complaint. "As such, we have resorted to take serious departmental steps against them and the process is underway,” said Mulaudzi. “We view this matter in a serious light and no stone will be left unturned to get to the bottom of the matter.”

Tuwani was a pupil at Tshiungulela Secondary School. She was laid to rest at Tshikwarani on Saturday.

Madume appeared in the Tshilwavhusiku Magistrate’s Court last Friday, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with the words “The future is in your hands” written on it.

The case was postponed to 30 January for further investigation. He remains in custody.

Date:23 January 2013

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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