"What wrong have women done to deserve this?" is the most asked question around the Vhembe District. In a single week, the region saw seven women brutally murdered in separate incidents.
Among those found murdered is Fhatuwani Nguluvhe (34), who disappeared from the Thavhani Mall on 6 March. Her decomposed body was found in the bushes along the R524 road next to Maniini on 23 March.
In another incident, Thabelo Ratombo (21) left her home on Saturday, 18 March, and her lifeless body was found in the bushes at Mphego. She had stab wounds to her body and she was naked, which indicated that she had probably been raped before the killer took her life.
In the latest case, a 26-year-old woman from Bunzhe was stabbed to death. At around 06:00 on Sunday morning, 26 March, Fulufhelo Dabishi's lifeless body was found lying next to an outside tap in a Maniini resident's yard. The discovery was made by a very shocked house owner.
Khadzi Vho-Susan Mphaphuli, the owner of the house, said that they had heard a commotion at around 02:00 in the morning, but because of load shedding they considered the situation too dark and dangerous to go outside to investigate. "We heard footsteps and a cry for help on the road here. The footsteps entered our yard, but we thought the person was only passing through. It was frightening. We waited until early morning, and when we went outside we noticed bloodstains leading to the corner. The bloodied body of a woman was lying next to a big rock. We alerted the neighbours and civic, and the police," she said.
Mphaphuli was still shaken as she recalled the grizzly sight, saying she had never seen something like that. "This is painful, especially that we are losing more and more young women who are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow. Things have changed. In our days, you never found girls chilling out at beer halls at odd hours, but girls today go out on the weekends and end up getting killed or raped. Why are our women killed in this fashion? What wrong have they done to deserve this?" Mphaphuli said.
The father of the deceased woman, Mr Thembuluwo Mathomu, and other family members identified the body at the scene. "Our hearts are torn apart, and we do not have words to express our grief. Fulufhelo was my daughter, and I feel like a part of me has been taken away. We are busy preparing for her burial, and this will probably take place on Saturday," he said.