A 20-year-old TVET student, who went missing on 29 August, has been found killed at Mokgoloboto village, outside Tzaneen, in Limpopo. Kgaogelo Shai’s partially decomposed body was discovered on Monday in a dry stream.
She was allegedly last seen with her boyfriend Rodney Kgatla, who died in a suspected suicide two days after her disappearance.
Kgatla was out on parole after serving 10 years for killing a previous girlfriend.
In an earlier interview with SABC News, Shai’s sister, Pelma, described her as a good person and obedient.
“She is a good child, who is very talkative and always smiling. She has never held grudges against anyone or gets angry easily.”
Following the discovery of her body, the family has requested space to make necessary legal arrangements. Shai’s relatives say they were unaware of the relationship or Kgatla’s criminal past.
Provincial Social Development spokesperson Witness Tiva says tackling gender-based violence remains a priority.
“We are very worried about the continuing incidents of gender-based violence. What we have done as the department is to ensure that our Social Workers are with the family since the 20-year-old TVET college student was reported missing. And they will remain with the family during this trying period.
“And we also hope that the virtual imbizo that has been called by Premier Stan Mathabatha will go a long way in terms of ensuring that we find a long-lasting solution to these continuing incidents of gender-based violence,” Tiva explains.
Men add their voices against gender-based violence:
Limpopo woman killed
Meanwhile, another family is mourning the death of their loved one in another suspected gender-based violence incident at Sterkfontein, near Groblersdal, in Limpopo.
35-year-old Elizabeth Tjiane was found with multiple stab wounds at her home on Sunday. Her boyfriend and father of her child has been arrested.
Tjiane’s relative, Walter Ngema has appealed to other men to find better ways to deal with their anger instead of resorting to violence.
“Shocked, devastated and broken because Lizzy had just lost her daughter in 2017 September; now it’s her. She was a talkative person if I can put it that way. Remember she was selling food in the taxi rank. She was a talkative person. I don’t remember her being that kind of person who is violent and what. She is a person who used to assist us when we have these gatherings in our family now and again. Men should take responsibility and talk about things because violence is not the case; violence is not the answer. Those people cannot defend themselves.”
A provincial virtual gender-based violence imbizo will be held on Thursday following several incidents of this nature in 2020.
Effective interventions needed to prevent gender-based violence:
