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The body of Cathy Matamela is being loaded into a mortuary van.

Murder shocks community.

 

The recent gruesome killing of a young and promising student at Itsani outside Thohoyandou has sent shockwaves through the village.

Residents of the village had a rude awakening on Friday when Cathy Mukhuba Matamela was found murdered some few metres from the room she was renting in the village. She was a student at Thasululo FET College at Tshisahulu and was from Tshiendeulu in the Nzhelele area. Her body was found by the owner of the house after she heard screams in the early hours of the morning.

Her bloodied, semi-naked body was found with a stab wound in the chest. It appeared there had been a struggle in her room before she was stabbed by the unknown intruder. The incident happened at around 04:30.

The murder, which adds to the ever-increasing statistics of murders in the village, has left the village in shock and with more questions than answers and many fearing who might be next to be killed. Within a short space of time, many villagers and others from Shayandima had gathered at the house of the murder.

Different police sections were busy collecting evidence at the scene. Just before Christmas last year, two people were stabbed to death in the village that is infested with violent crime.

Ward 37 Thulamela councillor Takalani Mawelewele, who arrived at the scene, condemned the killing, saying solving such crimes consumed time meant for service delivery. The owner of the house, Ms Sarah Nemutudi, said she was already awake when she heard screaming from the side of her outside rooms. "I was afraid at first but gained courage and went out, only to find the girl lying down and the boy Londo, who also stays at the rooms, chasing a man. On taking a closer look, I found the girl lying in a pool of blood.” She said that the pathologists had confirmed the girl dead at the scene.

"We are so saddened and we do not even have a clue of what could have triggered the cruel incident," she said. She said the murder has left her in deep shock and with questions as to why the killer decided to kill the girl in such a gruesome way.

Ms Angie Mudau, a community leader and a Sanco executive member, said years ago the area was notorious for killings and other criminal activities, but through a partnership with the police these decreased and the area became safer again. "We are very concerned about the killings in our area. In a very short space of time, we have already lost three lives through crime.”

She added that they blamed the withdrawal of police patrols in the area “for this sad state of affairs here, but as a community we will not sit down and fold our arms while our village burns. We are planning to hold a meeting and plan ways to combat this scourge after consultations with other structures and the local traditional leader," she said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlalefa Mojapelo confirmed the incident, saying the deceased had several stab wounds to her body.

The room where the woman was sleeping when she was attacked at Itsani.

Blood at the scene of the killling at Itsani.

 

Date:28 April 2017

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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