Durban - The principal of Villa Maria School in Bishopstowe near Pietermaritzburg was hacked to death in Table Mountain Road on Wednesday.
Nokuthula Magwanyana, 45, had left her school and was travelling home to Pietermaritzburg at about 4pm when she was attacked.
A police source said it was believed that Magwanyana, driving a maroon Chevrolet sedan, was forced off the road by a group of men who had allegedly been threatening her and calling on her to resign as principal.
Paramedics found the driver’s door open and Magwanyana half hanging out of the vehicle with her seatbelt still strapped around her.
She had suffered at least eight deep wounds to her neck, back and face.
The source said Magwanyana had recently opened a case of intimidation at the Bishopstowe police station, and speculated that this could be linked to her murder.
“The case was opened after threats were spray-painted on the walls of her house,” the source said.
It is alleged that Magwanyana was told she would be killed if she did not resign.
Police spokesman Mthokozisi Ngobese said police were investigating whether Magwanyana was ambushed by the men.
A teacher at the school, who declined being named, said that a small contingent of staff and parents were unhappy after Magwanyana’s appointment as principal in 2013.
Magwanyana was an HOD before she applied for and was awarded the position of principal.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spokesman, Sihle Mlotshwa, said they were “shocked and disturbed that one of their own had been killed in such a brutal and barbaric manner”.
“Losing a principal in this manner is a great loss to the department and the entire community. We trust the police will find and apprehend the people responsible for this horrendous crime,” he said.
Daily News