Family requests help in locating daughter’s suspected killer

The family of 21-year-old, Thulisile Mhlongo, who was bludgeoned to death in the early hours of Wednesday in Winterveld, Pretoria, is requesting for help in locating her boyfriend who is suspected to be her killer.

Thulisile’s body was found disposed of at a dumping site in the township.

Rasimati Chauke is said to have fled the scene after allegedly killing her.

The Mhlongo family says Chauke’s relatives informed them that they heard the couple arguing on Wednesday night when they were both at his house.

Thulisile’s uncle, Thabiso Mhlongo, says they recovered scissors, a brick, and ropes that they suspect Chauke used to kill her a few meters away from where the 21-year-old’s body was discovered.

“What’s painful is that we saw her blood and part of her brain matter which was spilled on the ground near a tree – a kilometre from the dumping site where her body was discovered. Indeed, we are extremely hurt. We confirm that the boyfriend is to blame, and he is on the run,” says Thabiso.

The family is worried that Chauke may repeat his heinous acts elsewhere, claiming that he may change his names because the ones he is known by do not match those on his ID card.

Thulisile’s death carries the hallmarks of thousands of stories of women who dying at the hands of their partners in the country, with many social media users advocating for harsher sentences to be enforced on perpetrators.

According to the South African Medical Research Council’s (SAMRC) 2024 fourth survey on femicide, seven women are killed in the country each day, and nearly six in 10 of such murders are at the hand of a husband, boyfriend or lover.

Thulisile’s father, Jacky Mhlongo, says he doubts he will ever recover from his daughter’s untimely death.

He says he had planned to give his inheritance to Thulisile once he died, as she was his firstborn child out of five children.

“We are devastated, and I don’t think I will ever be okay. What we just want is that he (the boyfriend) must hand himself over to the police then maybe a part of me will be fine because so far there is no indication of him, the police also have no idea where he is,” says the distraught father.

He says he is struggling to understand why Chauke would choose to be so harsh to his daughter.

Mhlongo describes Thulisile as a polite child, who dated discreetly without the family’s knowledge.

He says the 21-year-old was also the only child who could calm him down when upset.

Thulisile’s brother, Sibusiso, claims Chauke almost fought him when he first saw him.

He says he bumped into his sister while she was standing with the boyfriend in the neighbourhood near their home.

“When I called her to talk to her, I asked her who the guy is. She responded by saying sorry brother, you were not meant to find out this way. The guy then came and violently took her away and told me to talk to her later because now he was the one talking to her. Thuli then stood between us to stop the fight and then I told her we should go home,” explains Sibusiso.

He described his relationship with his late sister as that of mutual respect.

He says, although they were not particularly aware about her relationship with Chauke, they respected that she could be dating someone.

Masabata Tjekane, Thulisile’s stepmother, is urging children to heed their parents’ teachings to keep safe from harm.

Tjekane says she loved the 21-year-old as her own daughter and that many people used to think she was her real mother due to how strikingly similar they looked.

She says she feels robbed off a part of her, saying despite their difference – they largely shared a close loving relationship.

The grieving mother wept as she remembered her stepdaughter.

“I just want justice for my Thuli. I also want children to know that when their parents talk to them, they need to listen. I am not saying my child was not listening to us, she was a child and was playing just like any other child. I want justice for my daughter, then maybe my spirit will heal,” adds Tjekane.

It’s reported that the 21-year-old woman had been away from home for a few days before returning briefly, a day prior to her tragic death.

Sibongile Mkutoane, who is one of Thulisile’s close friends, still cannot believe her friend is no more.

Mkutoane says the 21-year-old was supposed to get her nails done by her a few days before the tragic incident.

She says her friend’s murder seems premeditated.

“He was really brutal towards her. I didn’t even think this would happen to her. I mean even if a person makes you angry, why don’t you just tell them to go away, or at least just hit them with one slap and then let them go? That would have been better because then she would have been able to return home. What he did to her is too painful. Maybe he thought Thuli would tell us that he was abusing her so he thought he should just finish her. They are the ones who know what they were fighting over; we really don’t know the real details. We honestly don’t understand what drove him to kill her,” adds Mkutoane.

She says Thulisile didn’t disclose much about her relationship with Chauke and would often listen to them talk about their partners instead.

Mkutoane wants Thulisile’s murderer and other GBVF perpetrators held to account. Written by Odirile Rabalao