Families hurt over lovers’ rape, murder
Five suspects appear in court for the crimes
A heart-broken Tshepisong, West Rand, woman has called for the return of death penalty in the wake of the gruesome rape and murder of her niece and her boyfriend two weeks ago.
Jeannette Cindi, 34 and her boyfriend Lungelo Buthelezi, 31, were allegedly doused with petrol before being set alight by a group of five men, who also raped her in the township.
Cindi was apparently five months pregnant when she was raped and killed.
The men accused of the pair’s gruesome murder appeared in the Kagiso Magistrate’s Court yesterday and their case was postponed to April 20 for a formal bail application.
Cindi’s aunt Clowy, 43, said the men deserved a death penalty for the manner in which they allegedly killed her niece and boyfriend.
“How do you rape someone who is five months pregnant to a point were she bleeds? When we visited the spot where they were burnt, we even found traces of blood.
“We ask for the families (of the accused) to come and apologise and tell us what they know as we search for closure.”
Clowy said the family had a feeling that the crime was premeditated. “After knocking down Buthelezi [with a car], they took Jeannette as well under the pretext they were taking Buthelezi to a nearby hospital. But they drove to a nearby garage to purchase fuel, which they used to burn the couple.”
Buthelezi’s distraught father Jabulani Buthelezi, 52, urged the families of the five men to show remorse.
“It has been two weeks now and none of the family members has contacted us to sympathise with our families. It’s not right, we only heard that the families of some of the accused live around here,” he said.
He said he has not been eating properly since the death of the two.
“The manner in which they killed him was horrible ... Lungelo was a quiet boy who was always at his car (repair) business, which he used to provide for his family.”
The five men are facing charges of murder, rape, and reckless and negligent driving.