“All we need is justice,” says grieving mother

A 29-year-old woman from Mabidi in the Vuwani area, who lost all her children in an alleged suspected ritual killing almost a year ago, says that instead of her heart healing with time, she continuously has sleepless nights.

Rosemary Mathavha says that she knows that revenge will not bring back her dead children, but all she wants to see is that those responsible for the deaths end up behind bars.

She says her ordeal started when her brother was accused of cattle theft, and the next thing the whole family was arrested. Some of the family members were released after five days, but her brother, Godfrey, was left incarcerated. That was around April 2014.

“On our arrival back at the village, youths threatened us with death and, true to their word, my children, Nyeleti Mathavha (9), Kulani Mathavha (7) and Tintswalo Mathavha (4), were killed on the night of the 27th of the same month,” she said.

Mathavha says the incident happened while she was away visiting neighbouring Malonga. “I received the news and rushed home, and we then opened a case. The police asked us if there were people we suspected could be behind the murders, and we gave them names. Since then, we have been waiting. What is happening now is that the investigating officer is avoiding us and has not kept us abreast of any progress in the case,” she says.

She has further indicated that, despite the evidence found at the scene, such as the hat of a local person, no arrests have been made. “All the suspects are lingering around the village. We have since learned that the suspects are close to the investigating officer and that they are seen together in some instances. We want the case to be transferred to another police station, because it seems that we will never have justice in this case if it is still at Vuwani. We are now living in fear, because all the information we give to the investigating officer goes back to the suspects, who are now after us,” said Mathavha.

She alleges that, because of threats made against them, her mother has moved to another village in fear of her life. “Please, we need justice in this case. We also need protection from the police,” says Mathavha.

Limpopo police spokesperson Col Ronel Otto said her case was receiving attention and that the suspects she had pointed out were investigated and found not to be linked to the case. “Our investigations are continuing and she will be kept abreast of the progress of the case,” Otto said.

Date:20 February 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Read: 1026