The disappearance of Vhembe TVET College lecturer Jimmy Mukwevho has cast a dark cloud over his family, who are still searching for answers more than a year after he had gone missing.
Mukwevho was hijacked and kidnapped in January 2023 from his home village of Ha-Mandiwana in the Nzhelele area. His vehicle was recovered a few days later, more than 120 kilometres away in the Vuwani area.
According to his family, Mukwevho was last seen at his home on 18 December 2022. Despite several searches by police, relatives and community members, there has been no sign of him.
A breakthrough came when his vehicle and clothes were traced to a man in Mashau village. This led to the arrest of two men and a woman, who allegedly confessed to killing Mukwevho and dumping his body in the Luvuvhu River near the Levubu farms.
Mukwevho's kidnapping sparked outrage in the community, leading to protests and the shutdown of services in the village. The police later arrested three men, believed to be acquaintances of Mukwevho.
"This is the most painful experience we have ever encountered as a family," said his brother, Takalani. "We keep hoping he will come back one day, but our hopes are fading as the days pass without hearing anything about him or his whereabouts," he said. "We want to know: if they killed him, they must show us where the body is. We need to bury him and give him a dignified burial."
Vhembe SAPS spokesperson W/O Vuledzani Dathi confirmed that three suspects, Thinandavha Mathisa, Lucas Mukhadi and Gugani Malele, had been arrested. They appeared in the Thohoyandou High Court, sitting at Waterval, on 23 June, where their case was postponed to 28 July. They remain in custody.