Durban - WHILE police are still investigating the gruesome murder of a 27-year-old woman whose body was cut in half, her family strongly believed the police let her alleged killer slip through their fingers.
Nkosingiphile Mazibuko, whose body was found in two black refuse bags on the side of Khululeka Drive in KwaDabeka Sub5, was laid to rest at the weekend.
Her sister-in-law, Sanelisiwe Bhengu, who spoke on behalf of Mazibuko’s mother, said the family believed that a person close to her had raised enough red flags to know exactly what happened to her.
Mazibuko’s body was discovered on Thursday after her family had reported her missing to police on Monday.
The day before her body was found, her family and the community had found the man about to board a vehicle fleeing the area.
Bhengu explained that they had approached his home and saw him carrying clothes, but he ditched the clothes and jumped into the vehicle, which sped off when he saw them.
She said they knew the driver and they managed to track down the man to Reservoir Hills and he was taken to the police station.
“The clothes were damp when we picked them up. It was only when we got home that we saw that it was his T-shirt and jeans covered in blood. We also found Nkosingiphile’s bloodied jeans among the clothes as well. These are all now with police. We took him to the police station after finding him hiding,” she said.
She explained the family reported Mazibuko missing after the man told the family she had not come back from a night of partying. He apparently later told them she had been stabbed where she had been partying.
“When questioned, he didn’t have a straight story. Then on Wednesday, we caught him trying to run, and then the police let him go later that day.”
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele confirmed that no one was arrested in the matter.
“It's only a boyfriend or a partner who has been working with the police. He was questioned about the incident, but for now, the suspect in this matter is unknown,” she said.
Mazibuko was found allegedly with skin and hair under her fingernails.
When asked whether police had collected DNA of the suspected killer from Mazibuko’s body, Mbele said: “In this case, we don’t have any unidentified suspects and we are still continuing with the investigation.”
DA councillor Mzamo Billy said they would be conducting an oversight visit to the KwaDabeka police station today as Mazibuko’s murder had brought to surface serious concerns about KwaDabeka and Clermont as a whole when it came to murders.
Billy said that KwaDabeka has had an increase in murders over the last few years, and in the 2018/19 crime statistics, KwaDabeka was among the top 30 police stations that recorded the highest number of murder cases (95).
KwaDabeka recorded 27 murders between October and December 2020/21.
Daily News