The family of 23-year-old Nosicelo Mtebeni says her death has left them traumatised.
Mtebeni was brutally murdered, allegedly by her 25-year-old boyfriend, at Quigney in East London.
Family spokesperson Teboho Mtebeni says Nosicelo was the beacon of hope for her family.
“As the family of Nosicelo Mtebeni we are truly so hurt about that, we are truly so hurt about it. It’s an incident that is so cruel in the area of Quigney in East London. I cannot even express my feeling about it. We were looking forward that she is going to change the situation within the family but now it is not going to happen. Like that she is no more.”
Night vigil for Nosicelo Mtebeni:
The incident has also shocked the community of Nosicelo’s home village, Khauoe in Matatiele, who say they found out about her death through social media. Community member Mampinga Khauoe has called on people to stop sharing gruesome images on social media platforms.
“We are not happy about the social media in this country, we have just seen gruesome images on social media without being told what actually happened. We were hoping that the police will inform the family and the community in a decent manner but the images were just all over, we are not happy at all.”
Prayer service
Community members from Quigney held a short prayer session to show solidarity for Nosicelo Mtebeni. A local church leader who led the prayer service, Pastor Corne Pretorious says the incident has shocked the community and as the church, they want to bring hope to residents and her family.
“There are so many things that have happened over the past couple of years, in our neighbourhood, in our nation and this senseless murder has just highlighted that again. Especially just the marginalisation of women, of young and vulnerable. We are just saying as the church, you know what we are so much better than this. There is hope for this nation, but we have to listen to the voiceless. We have to listen to our women, we have to listen to our young people, the youth, to our students that are crying out and saying we are desperate we feel unsafe.”
Meanwhile, the caretaker at the residence where the suspect and the deceased stayed, Phumeza Qwabe says the incident has shocked them. She added that tenants at the house are not coping with the incident.
“My tenants are not coping, they can’t sleep at night, it has affected them and I think they will need counselling. Because there are people who are staying with children, there are women who stay around here and they are thinking am I next. I think we are all going to need counselling after this.”
