16 year old girl who was almost beaten to death at Hlabisa. Picture: Facebook
Durban — Five people were arrested in connection with the assault and attempted murder of a 16-year-old girl in the Inhlwathi area in Hlabisa, KwaZulu-Natal.
According to her family, the girl was physically assaulted by her ex-boyfriend. He accused her of bewitching his current girlfriend, who had a miscarriage. He told her that he consulted with three sangomas, who confirmed that she was behind the unfortunate miscarriage.
According to her family, the girl received a call from the ex-boyfriend, requesting to speak to her outside the house. The family said the girl left home without alerting anyone, not knowing what awaited her. The family said the girl had trusted him because they had attended the same church and they were both in the choir.
Instead, he allegedly took her to a nearby forest, where he was joined by four other teenage boys who took turns in torturing her. They allegedly strangled her using her brassiere, whipped her using a pipe, put a t-shirt on her mouth so no one could hear her screams and kicked her repeatedly.
The girl returned home naked the next morning with bruises on her body. The girl told her family that the teenagers left her when she pretended to be dead.
“It is a miracle that she is still alive. She is going to need a lot of medical attention. She cannot eat or sit properly. We are concerned about her mental health. He blamed my sister for what had happened, yet she had no knowledge of what he was talking about. She was almost beaten to death,” her sister said.
The regent of the village, Musawenkosi Mdletshe, said he immediately intervened when the matter was reported to him. He contacted the families of the boys who were from another village, under the Mandlakazi area.
“They admitted to their role in what happened and agreed that they should be punished,” said Mdletshe.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said a case of attempted murder has been opened. She said the accused appeared in court last week Friday.
“Two suspects were released on the protection of their parents as they are still juveniles. However, they will still attend court proceedings,” she said.
Daily News
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