A relative of Nelson Mandela and granddaughter-in-law of AbaThembu regent Jongintaba Mtirara, Nkosikazi Nogcinile Thenjiwe Mtitara, was gunned down in her royal home at Mqhekezweni Great Place, Bhityi administrative area, outside Mthatha on Tuesday night.
Jongintaba raised Mandela as his guardian.
Mqhekezweni traditional leader Nkosikazi Nobulali Mtirara was too distraught to speak to the media about the brutal murder of her 71-year-old mother-in-law.
Family spokesperson Princess Phathiswa Mtirara condemned the incident.
“This is a disaster, a blow to the family,” she said.
“She was the pillar of this family, a matriarch we rely upon, in good times and bad times.”
BREAKING | AbaThembu royal family member shot dead, six grade 12 pupils raped in Bhityi attacks
Image: 123RF/RUSLANPHOTO2
A relative of Nelson Mandela and granddaughter-in-law of AbaThembu regent Jongintaba Mtirara, Nkosikazi Nogcinile Thenjiwe Mtitara, was gunned down in her royal home at Mqhekezweni Great Place, Bhityi administrative area, outside Mthatha on Tuesday night.
Jongintaba raised Mandela as his guardian.
Mqhekezweni traditional leader Nkosikazi Nobulali Mtirara was too distraught to speak to the media about the brutal murder of her 71-year-old mother-in-law.
Family spokesperson Princess Phathiswa Mtirara condemned the incident.
“This is a disaster, a blow to the family,” she said.
“She was the pillar of this family, a matriarch we rely upon, in good times and bad times.”
Matyenengqina traditional leader and AbaThembu royal family member Nkosi Bhovulengwe Mfundo Mtirara described the killing as a blow to the AmaDlomo royal clan and the kingdom of AbaThembu.
Police breakthrough in Bhityi mass killing with two suspects held
On the same night, six grade 12 schoolgirls from Jongintaba High School were allegedly raped at gunpoint by two men at their private boarding lodges in neighbouring Konkqeni village, about 3km from Mqhekezweni.
Community leaders and children's rights activist Petros Majola confirmed the mass rape.
“Eight female learners were asleep when two men forced entry into their house,” Majola wrote to education MEC Fundile Gade
“Six grade 12 learners were raped at gunpoint.”
Police spokesperson Lt-Col Siphokazi Mawisa said an investigating team and police forensic experts are on the ground.
Mqhekezweni, where Mandela grew up, has been plagued by violence, with women and schoolgirls frequently targeted by balaclava-clad night horse riders, known as oonontwayibonwa.
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