Cape Town - Police have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of a young Gugulethu mother found half naked and with bruises, according to her family, at her boyfriend’s house on Sunday.
Mystery surrounds the death of Nontsomi Mdodana, 29, and while the young women’s family says they were told she died in her sleep, they believe she was murdered.
The family said they were called to the scene by the boyfriend’s mother on Sunday morning, who said she was woken up by her son, telling her that their daughter would not wake up from her sleep.
Community activist and the family’s neighbour, Makhosonke Yibe said when the father arrived at the boyfriend’s house Mdodana was half naked and had bruises on the left side of her face.
“She also had scratches on her neck and blood (was) coming out of her mouth. When the police arrived on the scene they instructed the undertaker to take the body. There was no forensic inspection done on the scene. They just took a statement from the mother’s boyfriend and not from the family.
“It was only when we complained that the police came again on Monday to reconstruct the scene. I showed them her shirt, which had bloodstains,” he said.
Police spokesperson warrant officer Joseph Swartbooi said circumstances surrounding the incident were under investigation.
“Upon arrival at the scene by Gugulethu police on Sunday, at NY 7, they found the body of a 29-year-old female. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. Gugulethu police have registered an inquest for further investigation,” he said.
Nontsomi’s mother Lindelwa Mdodana said they demanded answers.
“She was a very kind and respectful soul. She has a six-year-old child. She loved her child so much and took very good care of him. She was my only daughter and I thought she would bury me one day and not the other way around. So I am not okay and I want to know what happened to my child,” said Mdodana.
Gender-based violence activist Nthabiseng Mabaso-Motaung called for young women to speak out against any form of abuse.
“We have been attending to cases of domestic violence in Gugulethu, and I know Nontsomi personally and she knew about our work.”
She said they believed that Mdodana may have been abused.
“I would always ask her if she is fine, and she would say to me that she is okay. Young women should never be afraid to speak out. By keeping quiet you are not only killing yourself inside, but also those who care about you,” she said.
Gugulethu Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson Ntandazo Gcingca said they were now waiting for the post-mortem results.
“We don’t want to speculate or rely on rumours. We will wait for that report. We also heard complaints about the way the police handled the case. We are working hard to improve service delivery in Gugulethu because we have found that many of our cases are not thoroughly investigated. We have complained to SAPS and we are working hard to change this,” said Gcingca.
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 086 0010 111 or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times