Gogos want no bail for killer of one of their own

A group of elderly women from Manavhela and neighbouring villages outside Vuwani marched to the local Vuwani Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 13 June, to voice their grievances. Their march followed the arrest and subsequent court appearance of the alleged murderer of Ms. Rosina Ramasimu. The 60-year-old woman from Manavhela was raped and brutally killed while collecting firewood in the local Burasini bushes. The shocking incident happened on Thursday, 4 April, and her naked body was found in the bushes the following day.

Upon learning of the arrest, the women from the villages marched to the court in their numbers to hand over a memorandum of their grievances and to catch a glimpse of the accused. During the appearance, the court was filled to capacity, and the magistrate had to warn the unruly gallery, which was making unpleasant remarks, that if they did not behave, he would be left with no option but to clear the gallery before proceedings could start.

The accused, Rotshidzwa Musetsho, who is charged with murder and rape, appeared calm and had his case postponed to 1 August for further investigations and a possible bail application.

Outside the court after the appearance, community leader Mr Jeremia Murovhi said the community was happy that, at long last, the alleged killer of Ms Ramasimu had been arrested. “The arrest serves us well as a community, but as you can see, the community is still very angry. We strongly believe this man was not acting alone in the crimes. There are still people roaming the streets that make the community feel unsafe. We hope the arrested suspect will cooperate with the police and identify his accomplices,” he said.

Murovhi further indicated that the community had gone to court to show support for the family of the murdered woman and to make their voices heard to the court that the suspect should not be granted bail. “This man should be locked up until the finalisation of his case. He must just rot in jail,” Murovhi said.

A spokesperson for the Ramasimu family, Mr Khathutshelo Ramasimu, said the arrest of the suspect was good news for the family. “The incident traumatised us, and we felt unsafe knowing that the killer or killers were still out there. The mere fact that he is now behind bars gives us hope that justice will be served and that we will at last find closure,” he said.

Date:21 June 2024

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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