Hundreds of community members, learners and teachers finally got to pay their last respects to 11-year-old Pfunzo Makuya of Phadzima Dzumbathoho, nearly two months after her death.
Pfunzo, a Grade 6 learner at Tondani Primary School, went missing in November last year after her mother had sent her to the local shoemaker. She was never seen alive again. News of her disappearance was reported to the local traditional leader and to the police, and a missing-person's docket was registered. Ten days later, a body was found in the nearby Mutshedzi Dam.
Her body had been lying in a cold mortuary fridge ever since as the family waited for the DNA results that would determine whether the deceased was related to the family. These results, which only came back from Polokwane on 10 January, confirmed that the body was that of Pfunzo.
The local civic association's chairperson, Mr Joseph Mulaudzi, urged parents to be responsible and look after their children. He said the community had had enough of killings. "We are doing all we can to make people aware of the crimes that are happening in their midst. The police are not doing anything to apprehend the criminals, but we seem to be fighting a losing battle because people prefer to keep quiet."
The deputy principal of Tondani Primary, Ms Ester Makhado, said they were deeply saddened by Pfunzo's death as she had been a cheerful little girl who had been brilliant at school. She urged the community to stand up and ensure that the lives of children were kept safe.
Pfunzo's uncle, Mr Masala Makuya, said they had accepted what had happened, although they were worried about rumours that the little girl had been ritually murdered. "We don't know where they got this information, because the girl's body parts were all intact when she was found," he said.