Limpopo police seek Zimbabwean husband after brutal murder of pre-school teacher
Police in Malamulele have launched a manhunt following the murder of a 42-year-old Zimbabwean pre-school teacher who was found stabbed to death in Xitlhelani village on Tuesday morning.
“The woman was discovered at about 6 am, lying on blankets in a pool of blood inside a rented back room,” Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said.
According to police, officers were called to the scene where the house owner pointed out the victim’s body.
Emergency medical services were summoned and certified the woman dead at the scene. She had sustained a stab wound to her upper body.
Ledwaba stated that the victim’s identity is being withheld pending further investigation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman was employed as a pre-school teacher at a local private school in the Malamulele area. She and her husband had reportedly rented the room only a few days before the incident.
Police said the woman’s husband could not be located and has since gone missing.
Investigators are calling on Ngonidzashe Sibanda, a Zimbabwean national, to present himself at the nearest police station, as he is believed to be able to assist in the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information that may assist police is urged to contact the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Silence Mabasa, on 082 319 9724, report to the nearest police station, or contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Earlier on Wednesday, IOL reported that police in Limpopo have launched a manhunt for a 34-year-old man believed to be linked to two rape cases involving minor girls in the Sekhukhune District.
According to Ledwaba, the Burgersfort Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit is seeking public assistance to trace Bonginkosi Kgopotso Mazibuko, whose presence is believed to be crucial to the ongoing investigation.
The incidents occurred at separate locations under the Mecklenburg policing area in October 2022 and November 2024, and involved victims aged 17 and 12.
Ledwaba said in the first incident, on 24 October 2022, the 17-year-old victim was walking to school when a silver Volkswagen Polo with unknown registration numbers stopped in front of her. The suspect allegedly pointed a firearm at the teenager and forced her into the vehicle.
She was allegedly driven to bushes in Ga-Mathipa village, where the suspect ordered her to undress, took photographs of her and raped her inside the vehicle. She was later dropped off at a main road, where she received assistance from a passing motorist before reporting the incident to her grandmother, who then alerted police.
In a second incident on 18 November 2024, police said the suspect allegedly used the same modus operandi to rape a 12-year-old girl in the same policing area. The child was also on her way to school when the suspect allegedly threatened her with a firearm, forced her into a silver Volkswagen Polo and drove her to bushes near a local mine, where she was raped inside the vehicle.
She was later dropped near the school premises, and a rape case was immediately opened.
Police said intensive investigations, including forensic DNA analysis, positively linked the suspect to both cases.
A massive manhunt is currently underway, with the suspect believed to be residing in Mkhuhlu under the Calcutta policing area in Mpumalanga.
Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact the investigating officer, Sergeant Letsatsi Mojalefa, on 076 140 5379, Crime Stop on 08600 10111, the nearest police station, or submit tips via the MySAPS App.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News