Special team to probe brutal murder of woman
THE brutal murder of an uMlazi woman, whose throat had been been slit and torso cut open, has spurred the provincial government to assign a special team to work with police and the community to tackle the scourge of rape and abuse in the township.
The body of Sithembile Sibiya, 29, was found in the veld on Sunday near Isidingo Combined Primary School in J Section, less than a kilometre away from her home in H Section.
Her grieving family is desperate for answers and has called for the swift arrest of those responsible for the vicious murder that has rocked the community.
The branch chairwoman of the ANC Women’s League, Mathombi Mnyandu, said she was appalled by the killing. “It is our children who are committing such heinous crimes,” she said. “How do these mothers sleep at night?”
Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said he was shocked at the brutality of it. “It is a clear indication that criminals are merciless and do not value human life.”
Community Safety and Liaison MEC, Willies Mchunu, said he had assigned a team to work with the police and community.
Sibiya’s brother, S’fundo, 21, said he wanted to see the full force of the law come down on her killer. “We lost our mother in 2009 and our father is not in our lives – she was all I had left,” he said.
S’fundo said he now feared for his two-week-old daughter.
“If there are people in this world who could do such a thing, what world have I brought my daughter into?”
Sibiya had suffered from bipolar disorder and her aunt, Makhosi Sibiya, with whom she lived, cried as she recalled her niece’s jovial manner and sometimes erratic behaviour.
“We were always fighting about her medication. I would think she was angry with me but she would burst out laughing. She could not bear a grudge,” she said.
When she noticed Sithembile changing her clothes four times on Saturday night, she knew her niece wanted to go out. “I did not like her going out because she would disappear for days, out with friends, without her treatment.”
She said this made Sibiya do and say senseless things.
The Sibiya family said it was not unusual for Sithembile to be away for a few days. “She would always come back,” said her aunt.
Sithembile’s uncle, Mandla Sibiya, was called out of church and told the news.
“I could not believe that she had been murdered. Because of her condition, I thought maybe she had fallen into a ditch and died, not this,” he said.
The uncle, a preacher at a Lutheran church, said his hyperactive niece was well known and well liked.
The family went to the crime scene and found Sithembile’s naked body. He said a rock had been placed on her face. “Her face was not hurt so she had not been hit with it,” he said. “Her throat had been slit. She was also stabbed on her chest and wounded on the back of the head. Her torso had been cut down the middle.”
Police spokesman, Colonel Vincent Mdunge, said there were only a few blood stains where the body was found. “This indicated that the woman’s body may have been dumped at the school after she was killed.”
There were also indications she was raped, he said.
Isidingo principal, Themba Moloi, said this was the fourth or fifth body found near his school in six years. “Something must be done to secure this area,” he said.
“Morale is down among pupils and teachers who are worried for their safety.”