Village savaged by serial killer now fears the worst again
Even after the murderer was apprehended, three more girls were killed ... and now another is missing
For residents of Butterworth in the Eastern Cape peaceful sleep seldom comes easily anymore.
With the death of three teenage girls over almost as many years still fresh in their minds, they find themselves again in a state of panic since 18-year-old Luthando Makhabane went missing on June 1.
Luthando is a Grade 11 pupil at Jongilizwe Senior Secondary School. Now residents fear the worst but hope for the best. This is a community that has already lived through so much horror, said chief Mzikabawo Luzipho, traditional leader of Tholeni village.
Since 2014 three teenage school girls who went missing in the villages near Butterworth were found dead.
This is the same area where convicted serial killer Bulelani Mabhayi raped and killed more than 30 women and children in a reign of terror that started in 2007 and only ended in 2012, when a shoelace left at one of the scenes finally tied him to the attacks. He was later sentenced to 25 life sentences for 36 counts of murder, rape and robbery.
Luzipho said his people and schoolchildren are still afraid to walk alone, and it is worse in winter when it is gets dark earlier.
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