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A graphic about gender-based violence
Police in KuGompo City have confirmed a gender-based violence incident in which a 26-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her 29-year-old boyfriend in Rainy village in Libode.
Fikiswa Madolwana’s body was allegedly loaded into a wheelbarrow and taken into a nearby forest, where she was buried in a shallow grave over the weekend.
Police say the suspect later confessed and pointed out the burial site.
It is further alleged that after being questioned by police and the deceased’s family, the suspect returned to the forest, exhumed the body and brought it back to the family.
Madolwana’s mother, Nolusapho Nomsobo, says the incident has left the family devastated.
“I am very devastated to learn that Fikiswa is no more. I did not know that she was cohabiting with this boy. She was my only daughter. I was asking myself where Fikiswa is, not knowing that she was cohabiting with the suspect. I am hurt, my heart is bleeding, she has two kids – I am the one who is raising the kids – I am not well ever since I lost my husband, I am asking myself why my daughter was killed in this brutal manner, he even took her to the forest and buried her,” said Nomsobo.
The deceased’s grandmother, Masukude Mlatha, has called for justice.
“We do not know what to do. She is leaving behind two kids. It is very hard, and we do not know what to do with the children. These kids are crying, looking for their mother. We are torn apart about this; her mother is still mourning the death of her husband. She was killed in a very brutal fashion, she was killed, put in a wheelbarrow and buried, but we thank god for his intervention-we will be able to bury her,” said Mlatha.
The suspect’s family says they are shocked by the incident.
“A young boy noticed a shallow grave in the nearby forest. He informed the people that he saw a body lying in a shallow grave. Indeed, the community rushed to the scene and they found a deceased girlfriend and she was dead. As the family, we are shocked – because we do not know him as a violent person, but the nature of the murder is very shocking,” said family spokesperson Fikile Rhozana.
Provincial police spokesperson Nobuntu Gantana says the suspect has confessed.
“A lawful confession has been obtained, in which the suspect admitted to the murder and subsequent burial. A pointing-out was conducted today before the suspect’s court appearance at Libode Magistrate Court on a charge of murder,” said Gantana.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Libode Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed another case in which a woman was killed in Bityi village outside Mthatha, raising further concerns about gender-based violence in rural communities.
Authorities have urged women to report incidents of abuse and seek help.
