Fear.
That is the reality confronting hundreds of Eastern Cape high school pupils who leave home in pursuit of education only to find themselves exposed to violence in the villages where they rent rooms near schools.
Schoolgirls told of how they walk in groups, sleep eight or 10 to a room and avoid attending afternoon classes because they feared what waited for them on the journey home.
The Daily Dispatch spent two weeks visiting villages where young girls and women live in fear of the danger that comes when night falls.
Mqhekezweni in the notorious Bhityi policing area, Tabase in Mthatha, Sikhobeni in Mthatha, Bhencuthi outside Qumbu, and Zibungu on the outskirts of Libode are hotspot areas.
Villagers all speak of the same horrifying patterns: break-ins, rapes and robberies.
In Tabase, an alleged serial rapist who goes by the name “Vaselina” has sown fear among pupils.
The man is accused of smearing himself with Vaseline, removing windowpanes and slipping through frames.
He is known for targeting girls who rent rooms or homes with no men.
Community leaders claimed more than 10 pupils have been raped in Tabase since April and no fewer than 20 in the OR Tambo district in the last 20 months.
A 19-year-old schoolgirl rents a room less than 1km from one of the schools in the village.
She spoke to the Dispatch while walking home with a group of girls.
She moved from her home, which is about 20km away, earlier this year to be closer to school.
However, her commitment to education is now being threatened by criminality.
She has stopped attending afternoon classes, as have other pupils who fear for their safety.
An 18-year-old from Cacadu (formerly Lady Frere) said “Vaselina’s” victims do not know how he got in because “the door was still locked”.
She too has stopped attending afternoon classes.
Vaselina’s latest victim is believed to be a 15-year-old who was abducted at knifepoint from her home and raped in the dongas near a river in Lugxogxo village on July 26.
She was home with her mother when a man with a big knife entered their home. He wore a balaclava.
“He was threatening my mother. He grabbed me, put a knife to my throat, and forced me out.”
He tried to muffle her screams by placing his hand over her mouth as he dragged her out of the house.
The young girl tried to escape but was caught.
“He tried to ride away with me on a horse, but my mother chased the horse away. He dragged me, threatening to kill me if I made noise.
“He took me to dongas near the river and raped me. He did not use a condom.”
When the Dispatch visited, about 20 women from Lugxogxo and nearby villages were at the family’s home.
Those who live alone now sleep in groups.
“They are living in fear too. But we are watching out for each other now,” the mother said.
The 15-year-old victim, who attends mathematics classes on a weekend, greeted the team with a smile.
She showed the bruises from her attack that night, yet she spoke with defiance.
“I will not let this break my school performance.
“I want to be a doctor. I have people standing with me — family, friends, teachers, my church, my community.
“That support is keeping me going, but I will never forget that night.
“He violated me and traumatised my family. He must be stopped before he destroys more innocent lives.”
Recalling that fateful night, the girl’s mother said: “When I woke up, the man was already inside with a torch and knife.
‘Whenever I screamed, he would stab me and say he would kill me.
“He ran off with my child. I tried fighting him off. He overpowered me.“
The woman has opened a case with the police. She said her house was the third targeted that night.
About 50km away, young girls and women are gripped by fear too.
A 24-year-old victim said she was attacked in June while walking home with a peer.
“He chased the guy away and dragged me to a garden and raped me.
“People were calling my name looking for me, but he threatened me to keep quiet.
“He wore a balaclava and told me not to look at him.”
The woman says she was raped repeatedly in different areas, including an open field and a home standing empty.
“It was around 5am when he let me go. I’m scared he will come back.”
She has opened a case but said there had been no progress.
Pupils across Tabase villages gave the same description of the attacker and they believed it was “Vaselina”.
A grade 12 pupil from Ngqeleni said she knew Mqhekezweni was unsafe but did not know Tabase was a hotspot too.
“There is no future without education,” the young woman said.
Earlier this month, pupils took to the streets, blocking the R61, demanding action from law enforcement.
A number of schoolchildren have fallen prey to killers and rapists over the years:
- In 2019, four matric girls were gang-raped and three boys beaten by attackers in Mqhekezweni;
- Three Mabhulana Ndamase Senior Secondary pupils were found raped and murdered in separate incidents between January 2023 and March 2026;
- Anenceba Nkawana, 15, was found murdered on New Year’s Day in 2023, just two months after completing grade 9;
- Vika Dayi, a grade 11 pupil at Zanokhanyo Senior Secondary School in Tshisabantu village, in Ngqeleni, was raped and killed in November 2023. A suspect was apprehended by the community and assaulted to death;
- Five schoolgirls were raped in their rented room in Khonkqeni village in October 2024;
- Grade 11 pupil Aviwe Ncekese from KwaGqwarhu locality left home at 6am on February 2 2025. Her half-naked body was discovered four days later in the bushes; and
- On February 27 2026, Amahle Dlokwakhe, 16, in grade 11, was found raped and murdered in a nearby forest.
The brutality of the Amahle attack sparked outrage.
It also set off a wave of vigilante violence that left a 79-year-old man dead and his home destroyed. He was accused of hiding his three grandsons, who were allegedly implicated in the crime.
In the wake of these horrific crimes, residents of Zibungu have sounded urgent calls to the government to provide scholar transport or build a hostel.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed that several investigations, specifically against “Vaselina”, were ongoing.
She urged anyone with information to contact the nearest police station or Crime Stop on 086-001-0111.
Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima called on communities to help ensure pupil safety. (see sidebar)
Equal Education organiser Anelisa Frans said victimisation was becoming a norm.
“The education department in the Eastern Cape should ensure that all learners are safe by building proper infrastructure, by providing safe and conducive learning environments, by building hostels for learners who move from one village to another,” Frans said.
The DA’s Horatio Hendricks said pupils relied on informal boarding facilities because the department did not provide sufficient hostels or adequate scholar transport.
He said of 44 hostels budgeted for over the past five years, only six were under construction or refurbishment, while 27 had not started.
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the demand for transport outstripped supply.
Daily Dispatch
