Durban - University of KwaZulu-Natal student Sinethemba Ndlovu was killed by a man whose advances she had rejected earlier, friends with her at the time have said.
Ndlovu was stabbed while returning from a function where she and 19 other girls from Durban had worked as hostesses on Saturday.
Ndlovu, 22, a Bachelor of Administration student from Inanda, was attacked outside the boarding facility the girls were to stay at after the Msinga DriftKhana motoring event.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele yesterday confirmed that a 20-year-old man was arrested on Monday in connection with the murder.
“A massive search was immediately launched. Through assistance of the community, police were able to trace him in the bushes in Msinga. He is expected to appear in court on a charge of murder. We thank the community for their assistance in bringing him to book,” said Mbele.
Event organiser Stha Makhoba, the owner of Sthandiwe Projects, said the girls were still traumatised.
She said rumours that the man was Ndlovu’s boyfriend were not true.
“She is from Inanda and the man who did this to her was unknown to us or to her. The attack happened outside the accommodation facility where we were going to spend the night after the function,” she said.
Makhoba said it was the second time the girls had worked at the event.
“The girls are devastated, especially those who were with her when she was killed, because they failed to stop the man from attacking her. One of the girls was stabbed in the hand when she tried to defend Sinethemba,” said Makhoba.
Transport had been arranged for the girls after the event, but some had stayed behind as they wanted to listen to some live performances.
“The girls who stayed behind afterwards decided to walk to the accommodation about 300 metres away from the event venue, and that’s when one of them was attacked,” said Smanga Mabaso, spokesperson for event organisers.
Lucy Dimba, Ndlovu’s aunt, dismissed claims that Ndlovu was raped. “The man made advances to her and she had refused him in front of his friends,’’ said Dimba.
She said the family received the news on Sunday morning after Ndlovu had succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
“What was so bad that she had done to deserve to die like this? She was working part-time to assist her widowed mother and siblings.”