By: Natasha Archary
A KZN community is left reeling after the shocking axe murders of two Grade 12 schoolgirls over the weekend.
The girls were brutally attacked and dismembered in Ngwangwane village, in southern KwaZulu-Natal.
Police arrested a man in his twenties who entered the girls’ student accommodation and carried out his attack.
The deaths of both young girls comes after 8 women were gang raped in Krugersdorp last week. A grim start to Women’s Month in the country, which further highlights the rise in femicide, rape and gender-based violence.
Police found one of the girl’s body inside the house, while the other’s was found dumped alongside Mzihlanga area in Riverside.
The suspect made a brief court appearance on Monday, 01 August, facing charges of murder and escaping from lawful custody.
Police say the man’s father assisted them in ensuring his son was arrested after he tried to flee by jumping into a river.
With the help of the police K-9 dog unit, the suspect was traced and re-arrested.
The community is shocked at the heinous way the girls were hacked to death.
“We are in pain. Why did these young women have to die like this? To attack defenceless students in such a manner.”
Angry community members wanted to take the law into their own hands when they discovered the girls’ mutilated bodies but were calmed down.
The victims’ families will be receiving psycho-social support, and the KZN Department of Social Development will extend its services to students at the school and teachers.
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