Kwambonambi women under siege

eNCA

a day ago

KWAMBONAMBI - A small rural community near Empangeni says its women and girls are under siege.
A schoolgirl was found dead in KwaMbonambi on Monday.
Her family has spent a week frantically searching for her.
Blood-stained leaves and a handprint on a tree trunk speak of Khethokuhle Ncube's dying moments.
The 16-year-old's body was discovered a week after she went missing.
She was found in the bushes a few meters from her home, next to the road.
As her grieving family prepares to lay her to rest, they hope whoever killed her is found and brought to book.
Khethokuhle joins a growing list of women killed in KwaMbonambi's Ward 8.
29-year-old Lindeni Mthembu was murdered in September 2023.
Her next-door neighbour, Londiwe Zulu, was found dead near her home in June this year.
Her boyfriend was briefly detained.
Police say they are investigating both cases, but the women's grieving families are sceptical.
Authorities say at least 11 women have been killed in KwaMbonambi Ward 8 since 2022.
Very few arrests have been made.
They say the local police must do more to arrest the perpetrators.
In the meantime, they've turned to prayer meetings and awareness campaigns to address the crisis.
KwaZulu-Natal has one of the highest numbers of gender-based violence and femicide in the country.
Police statistics show that 110 women were murdered in the province between October and December last year.
The National Prosecuting Authority says, over and above reporting cases of abuse before it's too late, community education is needed to support efforts to end femicide.
As the KwaMbonambi community buries yet another daughter, it desperately pleads for better policing and other means to protect women - and deliver justice for victims.