Man hacked to death

The rural village of Dididi outside Thohoyandou is still looking for answers after the gruesome death of a resident of the area, Mr Amen Nemadodzi (25). He was hacked to death on Saturday evening.

The villagers are accusing a Zimbabwean national of the murder.

The family spokesperson, Ms Johana Masevhe, said that the family was devastated about the death of Nemadodzi. He was a truck driver and his day job was mainly the loading and offloading of bricks to customers in the area. He was described as a handsome young man and a promising athlete.

Masevhe directed his anger towards the Zimbabweans in the area. “We don’t want to see them in our areas, because the Zimbabweans are very cruel. Some of them are killing and terrorizing our residents. We urge the law to take a stand and help us in removing all Zimbabweans without valid identity documents in our communities,” he said.

Nemadodzi was allegedly in a tavern called Ndivheni-timeni at Dididi village on Saturday evening. He was confronted by three men and, according to bystanders, they demanded money from him.

During the alleged conflict, one of the men went home and came back with a sharp sword. Nemadodzi was then hacked to death, and one of his attackers was allegedly attacked by members of the community. He is reportedly fighting for his life in the Tshilidzini Hospital. He was apparently saved by the police.

Since the news of the death of Nemadodzi became known in Dididi village and surrounding areas, communities have been up in arms, saying that they did not want to see any Zimbabweans lingering around.

A traditional leader of the area, Vha Musanda Vho-Sophy Ramovha, said she was shocked about the incident and that no one had the right to take the life of any human being. “As a traditional leader I support the idea of removing the Zimbabweans from Dididi and surrounding communities. We cannot tolerate the situation where the lives of our communities are in danger and they are fearing for their lives,” she said.

Nemadodzi leaves behind a wife and a 10-month-old boy. He will be buried in his home village of Dididi on Saturday.

The police have confirmed the incident and said that they had opened a murder case. A Zimbabwean national, Percy Dzikwani was arrested and appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court and was denied bail. According to spokesperson Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe, the case was postponed to 9 April.

Date:22 February 2018

By: Silas Nduvheni

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