DURBAN - WOMEN’S Month in KwaZulu-Natal ended on a tragic note, after the lifeless body of a 25-year-old student was discovered on the side of the road in Nongoma, northern KZN, on Monday.
According to the police, it was alleged that on Monday morning, Thandeka Mbatha’s body was found on the pathway, by a passer-by after she had been strangled to death, at Dayeni area, in Nongoma.
KZN Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said a case of murder was being investigated by Nongoma SAPS. She said the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated.
Mbatha was completing her second year towards a Bachelor of Education degree at Unisa’s Durban campus.
Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, Mbatha’s older sister Phakamile (Mbatha) said that the family was still finding it hard to come to terms with her sister’s death.
According to Phakamile, her sister was found naked and her body covered with a metal roof sheet, with bruises on her neck. She said Mbatha was last seen when she attended an event at her friend’s house, on Sunday, in the area.
“No one saw her leave and she didn’t come back home. So we searched the whole of Sunday night and only found her the next morning. We are very disheartened about what happened. She was a very focused person, who had good ambitions about her future,” she said.
Phakamile said that Mbatha lived in Durban, however, she moved back home to look after her mother who was not well.
“My mother is worst affected by the incident. When she found out about her passing, she passed out at the scene and has not been well ever since. Thandeka wanted to finish school and build her a nice home, however, that dream is dead now,” said Phakamile.
She said they were optimistic that the police would be able to apprehend the suspects soon.
Unisa student representative council (SRC) member Emmanuel Shangase said Mbatha’s death had shocked the whole institution.
Shangase said this was not the first incident where one of their female students had been killed in Nongoma.
“This raises alarm, not only about the men in Nongoma, but also in the whole province.
“We can’t allow women to be abused and killed in such a brutal manner, by men.
“As students, we are very sad and we will push to ensure that justice is served for Thandeka, and other women who fall victims of such acts,” said Shangase, adding that they would visit the family this week.
KZN Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela described the incident as a direct attack on women.
Memela said everything they were trying to do, as a department, fell on deaf ears – as more brutal incidents continued to be reported on a daily basis.
“Such incidents have an after-effect on the family. It will take some time for a family to recover from what happened to their daughter. Our social workers are always on the ground, and will be able to assist the family and community,” said Memela.
According to Memela, several brutal and terrifying incidents of woman and child abuse had been reported during women’s month. In uMzumbe, on the KZN South Coast, an unknown man entered the house, switched off the lights, and butchered a 41-yearold mother and her 15-year-old child.
Four incidents were reported in the Bergville areas, where three women were attacked and raped in different incidents, including a 17-year-old girl, who was raped in the presence of a 1 -year-old child.
“There are also two cases from Nongoma, and also a case of an old lady, from Harry Gwala District, who was attacked and raped on two separate dates,” said Memela.
THE MERCURY