“I had sexually assaulted her, and when she regained consciousness, I strangled her with a doek because she threatened to go to the police and tell her family.”
This is the chilling confession that the family of Phakama Mbonambi say was given to police by the man accused of killing the 36-year-old Flagstaff woman.
Mbonambi disappeared on November 23. A week later, her partially devoured body was discovered next to the outside toilet at the suspect’s home.
Because of the condition of her body, the family had no choice but to perform an emergency burial, a practice known in isiXhosa as ukuqhusheka, where the deceased is buried immediately without a funeral ceremony.
Now, as they struggle through their grief, the Mbonambi family is trying to raise funds to give her a dignified burial.
This horrific murder has shaken the rural community of Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape, and comes just weeks after another young woman was found murdered in the same region.
Earlier in November, the body of 28-year-old Hlobokazi Vusiwe was found in a forest behind the graveyard in Newtown, Lusikisiki. She had been strangled, and her body was discovered surrounded by used condoms.
These back-to-back killings have deepened fears about escalating violence against women in rural Eastern Cape communities.
His family told us he had been moved from his previous village because he already had two murder cases there. This leaves us with so many questions. Who protected him? And who was there when my sister was murdered?
— Thandiswa Nombasa, Mbonambi’s sister
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mbonambi’s sister Thandiswa Nombasa said the family is traumatised.
“After the way she was murdered, the least she deserves is a proper funeral. We need food, a tent, anything to help us bury her with dignity. But it’s a struggle. We are unemployed and survive on government grants,” she said.
The last day she was seen alive
Mbonambi’s uncle, Vuyisile Ntlontsana, said she left home to visit her boyfriend.
“Apparently, she went to the tuck shop on the way, and that is where she met the suspect, who was known to her. That was the last time she was seen alive,” he said.
When her boyfriend confirmed she never arrived, the family opened a missing-person case.
Days later, they were called to a scene where police and community members stood helplessly as dogs fed on a body.
“It was such a shock when we realised it was Phakama,” Ntlontsana said.
The remains were in such a horrific state that the family had no option but to bury her the same day.
‘He lied, but the evidence was in his yard’
Ntlontsana said the suspect initially denied any involvement.
“When we heard he was the last person seen with her, we confronted him. He claimed he had no idea what happened. But Phakama’s body was found outside his family’s toilet,” he said.
The family later found her clothes and blood stains inside the suspect’s house.
“That clearly shows he dumped her body outside after he killed her,” Ntlontsana said.
According to Nombasa, the man confessed after his arrest, telling police he strangled Phakama because she threatened to report the sexual assault.
“The suspect had recently moved into our village,” she said.
“His family told us he had been moved from his previous village because he already had two murder cases there. This leaves us with so many questions. Who protected him? And who was there when my sister was murdered?”
A StatsSA analysis on Crimes Against Women found that:
- nearly 50% of assaults against women are committed by someone known to the victim, a friend or acquaintance;
- 22% are committed by a spouse or intimate partner;
- 15% by a family member or household member; and
- only 29% of the attacks come from strangers.
The data also shows that physical violence is more prevalent among women with lower levels of education and remains deeply entrenched in rural and economically deprived areas, such as Flagstaff and Lusikisiki.
SA’s GBV Strategy
South Africa’s response to the GBV crisis is guided by the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP), launched in 2020 after the national outcry over femicide cases.
The NSP focuses on accountability and coordination, justice, safety and protection, prevention and rebuilding social cohesion, response, care, support and healing, and economic power for survivors and research and data systems.
Despite these commitments, civil society groups and researchers say implementation has been slow, underfunded and inconsistent, particularly in rural provinces like the Eastern Cape.
Police spokesperson Capt Welile Matyolo confirmed that a 27-year-old man originally from Lusikisiki was arrested and charged with murder.
“The accused had since confessed to the murder, and the matter is awaiting a date for sentencing proceedings. The family of the deceased was informed, and they also attended the postmortem proceedings,” Matyolo said.
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