EASTERN CAPE CRIME
Pensioner raped and body parts removed in horror murder
On 25 February in Mbizana, Eastern Cape, Thandiwe Mbane Sigaga (69) was raped and murdered, and some of her body parts were removed. Her family said this week they believe the motive for the murder was that one of the accused bought blankets from her and could not pay. They are now fighting for her alleged killers to be denied bail and remain behind bars.
‘She was just an old pensioner. She did not have any enemies. She loved the church. She sold clothes and collected her money. This woman before the court even borrowed some cash from my mother-in-law. When my mother-in-law went to collect her money, the woman would run away and hide behind her house.
“She didn’t pay my mother-in-law. We believe she went on to hire the two hitmen from the same village. They are the ones who then killed her.”
Sinethemba Mbane (left), the son of murdered pensioner Thandiwe Mbane Sigaga, with family members Sandile Molwana and Nozuko Sigaga. (Photo: Supplied)
This is how Sandile Molwana described the murder of his mother-in-law, Thandiwe Mbane Sigaga, in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape. On Wednesday, his family attended the court proceedings of the two men and one woman accused of killing her. The court couldn’t continue because of load shedding, and the case was postponed to 6 April.
Two men, Senzo Dlangamandla and Philani Nongayiyana, were allegedly hired by a third accused, Balekani Ganyaza, to murder Sigaga.
According to the police, the forensic report revealed that Sigaga had been raped. Her body was found lying in a pool of blood on 25 February. The three suspects were arrested by the police last Monday.
Body parts removed
Molwana said his mother-in-law was found in her house in a pool of blood. Her tongue, ears, and heart had been cut out.
“We still haven’t found all her body parts… The person who identified the body was her son, Sinethemba Mbane… All we need in this matter is justice, and the suspects should not be given bail — and we need to find out about the whereabouts of the body parts.”
Activist Petros Majola, attending the hearing on Wednesday, said the perpetrators “must rot in jail”. Majola said the government must intervene and work with communities to establish Community Safety Forums.
The Eastern Cape has the highest per capita murder rate in the country, at 22.5 per 100,000 people. According to the latest police statistics, 501 people were killed in the province between October and December last year — an increase of 15.1% over the previous year.
Rape is up by almost 10%, with 2,100 rape cases recorded in three months.
The MEC for social development in the province, Bukiwe Fanta, said in her policy speech on Wednesday that because of an increase in prevailing social ills — crime, substance abuse, gender-based violence, unemployment, and poverty — many families are at risk and are vulnerable. DM/MC
Bukiwe Fanta: is that all you can do? Stating the obvious is not actually doing anything – admit failure.