99-year-old gogo murdered in bloody Limpopo weekend

Three women, including a 99-year-old woman, were killed this past weekend in separate gender-based violence (GBV) incidents in Limpopo. 

In the first incident, a police officer allegedly shot and killed his wife at Vyeboom near Vuwani. The officer later turned the gun onto himself. 

In Waterval near Elim, a 41-year-old woman and her boyfriend were burnt beyond recognition, after the boyfriend allegedly set the house alight.

And in the final incident, a 99-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death by a relative during a family dispute, at Tshidzini Tshilaphala in the Vhembe region on Saturday, just after midnight. 

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The victim and the suspect, according to police files, resided at the same family house in the village.

The suspect, 59, had allegedly told the police that the reason he had killed his elderly aunt Munzhedzi Kwinda was because she wanted to kill him for ritual (muti) purposes. An argument allegedly ensued and the suspect pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed her to death. 

According to reports, members of the emergency medical services (EMS) were called to the scene by neighbours and on arrival, the body of the woman was found in a pool of blood. She was certified dead on the scene and the suspect was arrested. He will appear in court soon. 

On hearing the news, social development MEC in Limpopo, Nkakareng Rakgoale, said the number of women killed in the province was alarming.

“We have said and we are still saying, people who are having problems in their relationships and families must find peaceful means to resolve their problems or alternatively contact social workers for professional assistance.

“It is disheartening to still see incidents of gender-based violence and femicide continue to happen even during women’s month,” said the MEC. 

“As the department, we have our family preservation programmes that are aimed at building strong family units and ties. We therefore call on our communities not to resort to violence when faced with challenges in their relationships and family units,” she said. 

Rakgoale said social workers have been dispatched to the affected families to start providing psychosocial support.

news@citizen.co.za.