#JusticeforTshego: Her death ‘hurts the family’ – uncle of murdered pregnant woman

The family of Tshegofatso Pule say they are hurt by her death and the “horrific” scene where she was found.

The body of Pule, 28, was found on Monday hanging from a tree in Florida Lake, Roodepoort.

She had been stabbed.

Pule, who was eight months pregnant, left her Soweto home on Thursday evening to reportedly visit her boyfriend.

Her death caused outrage on social media, with the hashtag #JusticeForTshego trending on Twitter on Monday.

“I don’t want to get into details how horrific the scene was. It hurts as a family, we don’t want to relive those moments. We want to put those things behind us. We are satisfied with the investigations and have been briefed by the police.

“Any question that has to do how we feel, how she was found I am not going to answer that. Any question whether we suspect that her boyfriend is behind the murder, I am not going to answer that as we are not involved in the investigations,” Pule’s uncle, Tumisang Katake, said on Tuesday.

Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko and acting Social Development MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited Pule’s family in Soweto on Tuesday. Mazibuko said they were disturbed gender-based violence (GBV) continued unabated and women were suffering.

“We call upon members of the community to help us to bring an end to such atrocities against women. The worse being young women. We call on all males to say not in their name that they will see women being abused.

“Let it be them who champion such campaigns. It can’t be right that is always us women standing in the streets singing, going to courts while perpetrators stand there and watch,” said Mazibuko.

She called on people to use various social media platforms to fight GBV.

“As the provincial government, we are gradually changing our policies. Gone are the days where abused women run to shelters with children looking for shelter. It must be men that go into shelters.

“Perpetrators must be the ones going to shelter and women left at home looking after children,” said Mazibuko.

Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said they were investigating a case of murder and no arrests have been made yet.

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