The recent murder of Rolivhuwa Tshivhase, a street vendor from Muledane, has sparked yet more questions about the safety of residents in Thohoyandou, where criminals reign supreme.
Tshivhase (26) was selling food at his stall next to the park at Thohoyandou Golgotha on Wednesday, 21 June, at around 14:00, when he was shot dead after an alleged altercation with a man, whose name had not been revealed.
Details around the incident are still very sketchy and subject to police investigations. Construction workers who laboured right next to the scene were mum about what had happened, but described Tshivhase as a "good man who was friendly with all his customers".
The late businessman's sister, Ms Masindi Tshivhase, said she had been at work in Thohoyandou when she had received a call informing her of the incident. "I rushed to the scene, thinking he was just involved in a fight and that I could do something to help him, but when I got there, I saw his body lying in the middle of the road, wrapped in black plastic. I knew at the spot that he was no longer alive. I stayed in the car until the police arrived and asked me to identify his body. I cannot explain the pain I felt, seeing his bloodied and lifeless body. I felt like [if only] I could wake him up," she said.
Masindi said he used to come to her workplace, which is just opposite from where he bought his stock. "On this fateful day, he never came to me, and I cannot even tell why he did not come to me. I heard that he had a fight with someone at a liquor outlet and that he begged his killer to spare his life before he was shot, but he was killed anyway. I just cannot believe he is gone. He was my only brother, and it is hard to know he is gone forever. It is very painful."
Mr Ntsieni Mbulungeni, the chairperson of the Thulamela Business Forum, said crime was adversely affecting businesses in Thohoyandou. "We are no longer safe here. This is driving investors away and leading to the loss of jobs and the economy to go down even further. We applaud the police for the recent breakthroughs, and we urge communities to help them with information," he said.
The acting spokesperson for the Vhembe SAPS, Sergeant Vuledzani Dathi, confirmed the incident, saying they had opened a murder case. "Our investigations are continuing and we hope the suspect will soon be arrested, as he is known," he said.
Tshivhase was buried on Saturday, 24 June.