Residents of Tshikhwani in the Sinthumule area are still shocked after a disturbing incident in the village where a 50-year-old woman was raped and killed by an unknown suspect(s).
Julia Matoro's bloodied, half-naked body was found by passers-by in the early morning hours of Sunday, 10 July. Some kind of struggle had apparently taken place before she was stabbed repeatedly in the chest and over her body.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed the incident, saying that a case of rape and murder had been opened with the police. "Members at our detective unit are busy conducting an investigation, and hopefully we will soon make a breakthrough," Mojapelo said.
The incident adds to the ever-increasing statistics of murders in the village. The ward councillor, Mr Masia Mulaudzi, said that, years ago, the area had been notorious for killings and other criminal activities but that, through their partnership with the police, the area had become safer again. "We are very concerned about the recent killings in our area again. We have already lost a number of lives through crime in a very short space of time," he said.
Mulaudzi said that, after consultations with other structures and the local traditional leader, they had agreed to hold a meeting and plan ways forward to combat the scourge of crime in their area.
The chairperson of the Real Men Foundation, Mr Calvin Nenguza, said that whoever had killed the woman was not a real man. "Real men do not kill. They do not rape their women, but give comfort and security to them. Let us all shout out in one voice against the abuse of woman, children and killing," he said.
Matoro will be buried at Tshikhwani on Saturday, 16 July. The service starts at 06:00.