North West teacher, 25, found bound and strangled in her home

A 25-year-old North West teacher has been found dead in her home, the provincial department of education said.

Education spokesperson Elias Malindi said the woman was apparently strangled on Monday at a village near Rustenburg.

Malindi said due to sensitivity around the matter, the family have asked that her name not be made public.

Police spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said the teacher’s body was found by her neighbours and members of the school governing body after the alarm was sounded when she failed to report for work.

Mokgwabone said her hands and feet had been tied up.

A murder case has been opened but no arrests have been made yet.

The teacher was originally from a village near Mahikeng.

She obtained her degree in 2018 from the North West University, Mahikeng campus, and started teaching life science at a secondary school last year.

Provincial education MEC Mmaphefo Matsemela said she was saddened by the murder, saying it was “one death too many”.

“As a department we are fighting a common enemy called Covid-19, and we do not expect to lose our teachers in this way. It is heartbreaking to lose a young teacher who could have had a long career.

“Teachers play an important role of moulding the future of our country, and as a society we need to take good care of them and protect them. A nation without teachers is a doomed society. Teachers are a light to the community. I am appealing to the police to arrest the perpetrators of this heinous act. They should rot in jail,” Matsemela said.

The MEC is expected to visit the teacher's family on Thursday.