On Monday, 31 October, residents of Manamani showed up in their numbers outside the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court in protest against bail for Goodman Mpilo.
Mpilo (36) of Manamani stands accused of the murder of his aunt, Ms Johannah Mpilo.
The 65-year-old woman was found tied up and brutally murdered behind her house in Manamani on 5 September this year. Initial reports first made the incident look like a robbery as her house was ransacked and several items were found to be missing, but further investigation linked Mpilo to the deceased's murder.
Waving their placards, the protesters marched from the new Shell Garage in Thohoyandou to the court, singing freedom songs. Mpilo, who abandoned his bail application during his previous appearance, now looked drained and had lost considerable weight. When the case was postponed to 22 November 2022 for further investigations, his mother cried out loudly. He remains in custody.
Ms Eulenda Sumbana, chairperson of the CPF at Manamani, said they were in court to support the family and to express their anger at the spiralling killings aimed at women and children. "We are totally opposed to the granting of bail to suspects accused of murder. What we have realised over a period, is that these criminals are granted bail and go out and continue where they left off. We would love to see the suspect incarcerated until the finalisation of the case," she said.
The murdered woman's husband, Mr Livhuwani Mpilo, who was also in court, said that the accused had not made a full disclosure of his accomplices who had allegedly committed the crime with him yet, but that he was satisfied with the postponement. "This is good and serves him well. The postponement and continued incarceration give us hope that justice will be served," he said.