Siyavuya Mzantsi
ANOTHER young woman has been horrifically murdered in Bredasdorp.
Yesterday, Sulnita Manho’s alleged killer appeared in the local court. He was arrested shortly after her gruesome murder.
Manho, 22, a single mother, is the fifth female murder victim in Bredasdorp in just over three years.
Bredasdorp station commander Maree Louw said police found Manho lying on her stomach, her underwear halfway down and her head covered with blood.
A bloodied stone was found on the scene on the edge of the town. Manho, who lived on the Kars River Farm, was certified dead on the scene.
“(An) eyewitness who notified the police about the body identified the suspect and an arrest was made,” said Louw.
Nineteen-year-old Dalwigo Ward appeared at the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on a rape and murder charge yesterday. The case was postponed to April 11 for bail information.
Sonke Gender Justice said it was troubled by gender-based violence in the country, particularly in rural areas.
Social Development MEC Albert Fritz’s spokesperson, Sihle Ngobese, said yesterday that their efforts to eradicate violence against women and children in Bredasdorp needed to have the support of the community.
Manho’s murder comes three years since the rape and murder of 17-year-old Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen.
Last year the body of a five-year-old, Kayde Williams, was found dumped in the bushes.
On May 31 Elda Jafta, 14, was found dead, wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in the Zwelitsha informal settlement. Xolelwa Vuma, 30, was found stabbed to death under a bed in Ou Meule Road on August 17.
Sonke Gender Justice spokesperson Patrick Godana said: “We have always called for a national strategic plan to stop gender-based violence and that has never materialised.”
Ngobese said social workers were working to establish contact with Manho’s family to provide trauma counselling.
“As a department we have increased our resources in the community of Bredasdorp. The Department of Social Development Bredasdorp local office officially opened on 4 March, 2015. It is fully functional and operational,” Ngobese said.
“However our efforts need the communities of Bredasdorp to take a strong stand against abuse and violence aimed at women and children, and for people to partner with government in a whole-of-society manner.”
As part of ongoing efforts to reduce violence against women and children, he said, the Bredasdorp local office has partnered with the Cape Agulhus Municipality and othersto drive awareness campaigns.