The community of Ezimpakaneni at KwaNongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal is reeling from the brutal murder of a 24-year-old woman. Thandeka Mbatha’s body was found dumped in bushes in the area earlier this week by a passer-by.
It is believed that Mbatha had left home to attend a traditional ceremony nearby but never returned.
Ezimpakaneni is a deeply rural area in KwaNongoma. The brutal murder of Thandeka Mbatha has shocked her family and her community. Her mother – Sindisiwe Mbatha – says her daughter was studying teaching at the University of South Africa (Unisa), saying that her death is a great loss.
“She told me that she was going to KwaDuma as there was a traditional ceremony and I allowed her to go but she did not come back. Early in the morning, I saw my sister coming to fetch me to the bush. When I got there I saw my daughter lying on the field but dead.”
Mthandeni Ndaba describes his sister as his pillar of strength.
“I don’t want to lie, it’s painful and I call on the community to come together so that we can get the killer or killers to rot in jail. That will help us as a community so that we will not fight amongst ourselves. Police have interrogated few members of the community and we are still waiting.”
He is appealing to the community to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest of his sister’s killer.
“The community is united now to discuss the issue and even maidens have joined the community to get to the bottom of this issue.”
GBV in the province
According to KwaNongoma Mayor, Albert Mncwango, last year, the area was among the top 10 areas affected by gender-based violence (GBV) in the province. He says they have now established a dialogue with the Zulu royal family – called Ibandla – to discuss GBV related issues.
“Last year we are were one of the 10 areas that are bedeviled by the scourge of GBV. The question is what do we do as leaders to address this issue? We are having dialogues with young men where we engage them and teach them to manage their relationship, the problem of drugs, and the problem of alcohol consumption.”
KwaZulu-Natal police are appealing to anyone with any information around Mbatha’s murder to come forward. No arrests have been made.
Activists on Thursday called for continuous GBV awareness: 2 September 2021
