Beauties’ tragic ends
Boyfriends face murder charges
WHILE the eyes of the world have been on Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, two Durban women have been murdered in two weeks, allegedly by their partners.
Kimeera Rajbunsi, a beautiful 19-year-old, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death. Her body was found in a Glen Anil river in Durban on Wednesday and her boyfriend, Sholin Bissoon, 22, made his first appearance in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Last week, Merebank resident Ashika Singh, 35, was found strangled in her home. Her boyfriend, Donovan Ramdass, 30, has appeared in court for her murder.
International Women’s Day was observed yesterday.
Rajbunsi’s mother, Sumitha, discovered that her daughter was missing when she returned home from work on Monday to find broken glass, a broken frying pan and a bloodied mop on the floor. Rajbunsi’s phone was still in the house and contained threatening messages.
A police source said Rajbunsi had ended her relationship with Bissoon two weeks ago, but that he had been having a hard time accepting that the relationship was over.
Two days after Rajbunsi was reported missing, Bissoon handed himself over to police, saying he had killed her in “a fit of rage”.
Rajbunsi was hit on the head with a frying pan and stabbed six times, allegedly by Bissoon.
Bissoon, a student, did not plead during his court appearance and his case was postponed to next week for a bail hearing.
More than 200 family members and friends
mourned Rajbunsi at a funeral service at the Stanmore Hall in Phoenix.
One of Rajbunsi’s friends gave a moving tribute to the teenager, describing her as a warm person and someone who was never afraid of standing up for her beliefs.
Rajbunsi’s mother, Sumitha, sobbed as mourners came up to her to pay their respects.
Anshu Padayachee of the Advice Desk for Abused Women said there was a frightening increase in intimate person violence.
“We are seeing it more frequently — men killing their female partners. This is not a domestic situation in that they are not living together. But it is a case of ‘ if I can’t have you, no one else can’. They have this idea of ownership and so they kill.”
She said better infrastructure could help prevent the phenomenon’s rise.