The relatives of the late Emihle Tukani (13), from Mputi location in Mthatha, who was raped and murdered allegedly by a shepherd in April this year, received a house from the Department of Human Settlements, last week.
Her mother, Zoleka Tukani (36), said even though her child would never come back, at least the government showed that it cared.
“We were living in this dilapidated structure because our house was swept away by heavy rains. I cannot replace the life of my daughter with this house but we thank government because it showed the support for what we went through,” said Tukani.
Emihle was a member of the Inkciyo (a group of young boys and girls who undergo virginity testing to promote abstinence from sex).
She said on the day of the incident, her grandmother, Nowatuse Tukani (61), sent her to fetch R10 from the suspect who was known as Mqwathi (47); she never returned. When she went to look for her at Mqwathi’s place, he denied seeing her.
He then later confessed that he had raped and strangled her to death. He then showed the villagers where he had taken Emihle’s body.
Angry villagers allegedly took the law into their own hands and killed Mqwathi, who died on the scene.
MEC for Human Settlements, Siphokazi Lusithi, said, “We are here to ensure that we fulfil the promise that was made by the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane, when he visited this family during the tragedy.
“We have visited the OR Tambo District area to look at what the department had done so far to ensure that people receive houses,” said Lusithi.
She added that they were also looking at the solutions for when heavy storms affect the communities. She said they were also aware that they have projects that were not functioning in the OR Tambo, and some were left unfinished by contractors.
Lusithi confirmed that the municipality agreed to work with them to ensure that they revisit all those programmes in order to see what they could do in order to ensure that they are functioning again.
“We know that the Tukani family were not the only ones who were hit by heavy storms.
“We are committing ourselves that we will come back and give more clarity on what is going to happen before the end of this year.”
