Three children killed and found in "freezer of sorrow"

Day in and day out, reports of missing children around the country have become a common feature of life. Some are lucky to be found alive and, in most cases, children are still on the receiving end as they are killed for reasons known only to the perpetrators themselves.

In some cases, mothers are to blame for not taking care of their children.

Vhembe has not been spared as there are still cases involving children which have not been resolved.

The mysterious killing of three children at Mamangwa village outside Thohoyandou over the weekend has added to the ever-increasing number of children dying under mysterious circumstances. The three children of sisters from the same home were left playing at one of their homes in the village when the grandmother and one of the mothers went to church on Sunday morning.

Mpho Munwana (6), Phetho Munwana (6) and Makhadzi Muvhulawa (3), all from three different mothers of the same family, were found dead in a disused refrigerator on Sunday evening. This was after a frantic search by members of the community and the family.

Their lifeless bodies were found on top of each other in the fridge. The size of the fridge leaves many questions as to how the children ended up stuffed in there. There was also blood in the fridge.

Some of the hairpieces were torn off, which also indicates that there had been violence in the room. Their shoes were strewn over the floor.

Gogo Muofhe Mulovhedzi, who looked after the children, said she and her daughter Rudzani left the children playing together when they went to church as Rudzani who was not feeling well and wanted prayers. "We came back at about 17:00 and the children were nowhere to be found. I enquired from all the people I thought they might have gone to and also checked at the house where they were later found, only to find that the house was locked. It was only after people forced their way into the house that the children were found dead," she said.

“These children were like my own children. We had bonded together and their death makes me wish I was dead. Some three months ago, I was knocked down by a car in the road and the case never saw its way to court. A fortnight ago, I had part of my ear cut off mysteriously while I was cutting grass in the veld, and now this. I just wish I had died and not seen this,” said the grieving gogo.

“Whoever did this to my grandchildren should be brought to book and explain why he did it,” she said.

When Limpopo Mirror visited the family on Monday, police forensic experts were still working at the scene for clues. Neighbours who were visibly in a state of mourning were arriving in numbers to come and lend the family a shoulder to cry on.

The local traditional leader, Chief Rudzani Nemalamangwa, and the ward councillor, Cllr David Mamushiana, condemned the incident, saying it had left the community with so many questions about the circumstances leading to their deaths.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Constable Avhafarei Tshiovhe urged the community to watch over their children. “Children need constant supervision and should not be left alone,“ she said.

She said they had opened inquests in respect of the three deaths.

Date:22 November 2013

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.

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