Johannesburg – The murder of a Daveyton mother, who was seemingly killed in front of her six-year-old daughter, has left police desperately searching for the culprit.
Thokozile Dlamini’s body was discovered with multiple stab wounds in a pool of blood by fellow tenants in the back room she lived in.
Her live-in partner, who is believed to be responsible for her death, is on the run, and police are seeking information on his whereabouts.
According to Dlamini’s cousin Jabulani Vilakazi, the 30-year-old was found after what her landlord described as a scuffle between her and her partner.
“I got a call on January 13 in the evening from her landlord, who said ‘Thoko is lying in her own blood’. I hurried to Daveyton from my place in Randfontein to go see what they were talking about,” Vilakazi said.
When he got there, he was told that the tenants and landlord believed that Dlamini had been stabbed by her partner.
“We later found out that she had been stabbed several times. About five times in her back, more in her chest, her breast area and below her stomach. I didn’t ask how many stab wounds she had in total because that was too much for me,” Vilakazi said.
He also said Dlamini’s partner had allegedly sent texts to her friends and colleagues, explaining that he had murdered her, and that they should go and get her child, using one of her cellphones.
Her landlord, who asked that his name be withheld due to his profession as an educator, said he realised there was trouble brewing in the yard when he heard a commotion and people chasing each other.
“When I got outside I found that her boyfriend had run out of the yard and had told the other tenants to call an ambulance.
“They had been reluctant to (do so) because they realised that something must have been wrong with MaDlamini,” he said, adding that he went to go check in the room, and just before he got in, he saw blood at the door.
Upon venturing further, they found the white wall in Dlamini’s room splashed with blood, with her body lying a few metres away from the wall.
“What I find particularly puzzling about this whole thing is that the tenants said what made them realise that something was wrong was the child crying. She had been crying (inside the room) for a while when they went knocking."
“They then discovered the door to their room locked, and they insisted (the partner) open. Upon opening, he ran,” the landlord explained.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said that although there was no warrant for the man’s arrest, the police were looking for him for questioning.
“There is currently an investigation under way, and the police are appealing to members of the public to assist us with any information they have on the suspect’s whereabouts that can lead to his arrest,” Makhubele said.
Vilakazi said Dlamini’s loved ones wanted justice to be served.