Publications
- The family of slain Hlengiwe Madlala want answers.
- Madlala would have celebrated her 40th birthday on Women's Day.
- No arrests have been made following her murder two months ago.
The family of slain KwaZulu-Natal government employee Hlengiwe Madlala are desperately searching for answers to help them find closure two months after her murder.
Madlala's lifeless body was discovered outside her home on 5 June, with multiple stab wounds and parts of her body mutilated.
According to her family, Women's Day was a very sad day for them because Madlala would have celebrated her 40th birthday.
Meanwhile, her killer or killers still roam the streets.
"A part of me feels like my mother's death was just swept under the carpet," Madlala's daughter Pamella Radebe told new24.
"It's been exactly two months since my mother was murdered, but we haven't heard anything from the police regarding her case, neither about the arrests," she added.
According to Radebe, 18, following her mother's murder, she had to step up and be a mother figure for her two younger siblings - Sbongakonke, 6, and Zama, 11 - while she was still dealing with the loss.
"It's very hard. My father is around, however he was severely affected by mom's death, therefore I have to be there for my brother and sister to fill my mother's void.
READ: Staffer at KwaZulu-Natal premier's office found stabbed to death outside her home
"I know that putting my mother's killers behind bars won't bring her back to life, but it will give us closure as a family because we are also scared. No one knows why they killed her in the manner that they did."
She told News24 that it had been a gruesome crime scene.
A family member who spoke on a condition of anonymity said that Madlala's murder was a rare case and that it shocked the community.
She added:
During a Women's Day briefing on Monday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said it was distressing that women and children were vulnerable to violence in every sphere of society.
"South Africa is a violent society. Let us acknowledge that without reservation. Let us acknowledge that with shame."
He condemned violence against women and children.
News24's attempts to get comment from the police were unsuccessful.
