A 68-year-old grandmother used to open her Mqhekezweni home outside Mthatha to seven schoolchildren.
Each paid R200 a month, and for the family depending on the pensioner’s grant, that money bought food.
Today, that door is closed.
After criminals broke in, robbed her tenants and raped her 14-year-old granddaughter, the woman said no amount of money was worth the risk.
And she’s not alone.
Fear has gripped the community of Mqhekezweni, say children from far-flung areas who came knocking for places to rent to be close to school.
The pensioner, who asked not to be named, said her home had been robbed twice and the young people who rent from her robbed.
The man who raped her granddaughter was never caught.
“It’s not just me who has decided to stop renting out to learners,” she said.
“That money is going to other villages now, because we fear for our lives in Mqhekezweni.”
The woman said the balaclava-clad criminals, known as onontwayibonwa, turned Mqhekezweni into a place of fear.
When the Dispatch visited her home on a Monday evening, the woman stood outside and was ready to flee.
When she heard the familiar voice of the reporter, she felt relief.
“I was ready to run because who knows, these criminals can come with a car. Sometimes they come riding horses.
“This school was built by tat’uMandela [Nelson Mandela]. Renting our rooms was our livelihood, but we would rather not get the money because it brings death.”
Today, Mqhekezweni is considered one of the most feared places where schoolchildren and women are raped and killed.
Despite the area’s notoriety, Jongintaba Senior Secondary School continues to attract hundreds of pupils from far-flung districts who want to repeat matric or improve their results irrespective of age.
In the middle of the night of March 15 2019, four schoolgirls doing grade 12 were gang-raped at gunpoint and robbed of valuables by three men.
They were abducted, together with six schoolboys from different houses in the same homestead they were renting in Mqhekezweni.
They were taken to dongas near the school where the three men took turns raping the girls throughout the night. The six boys were assaulted with sjamboks.
Two years later, on October 30 2024, five grade 12 pupils renting one of the homes in neighbouring Khonkqeni village were raped while preparing for their exams.
Hours after the ordeal, the girls still managed to write their exams. All of them obtained bachelor’s passes.
Police offered a reward of up to R50,000 to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrators in the alleged robbery and rape of the five schoolgirls.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed the investigation was still active.
“The victims were immediately provided with medical and psycho-social support, and forensic evidence, including DNA samples, was collected.
“While the samples have been processed at the forensic science laboratory, they have not yet yielded a positive match to any suspect in the national database.”
Gantana said anyone with information was urged to contact the investigating officers:
* Captain Nomanjila: 082-697-5920
* Sergeant Danisa: 083-527-4451
* Office Number: 047-531-2170
Alternatively, tip-offs can be shared anonymously via the Crime Stop Number at 08600-10111 or the MySAPS App.
Just little more than 100km from Mqhekezweni, 58-year-old Nomzi Ndinga from Bhencuthi outside Qumbu, said they too would no longer be renting rooms to pupils.
Ndinga was brought in as a caretaker of the property after the owners passed away. The owners’ children live and work in other areas.
A portion of the rent paid by pupils goes towards Ndinga’s salary, while the rest is used to tend to the home.
Ndinga said on August 2, three girls aged between 15 and 17 were raped at her homestead.
It is understood they were all hostel dwellers last year but were expelled after failing the grade.
They moved onto the homestead Ndinga looks after, paying R350 each a month.
Ndinga said just three weeks before the attack on the girls, there was talk of an attempted rape in the village.
She encouraged the girls to join her family and they all slept in one flat.
However, the girls eventually went back to their room which is when the attack happened.
“That broke my heart and triggered fear and anger in me,” an emotional Ndinga said.
“The young girls said when they tried screaming, calling out my name, the rapist told them he had already killed me and my three children.”
Gantana confirmed a case of rape had been opened at the Thina Falls police station.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have information that could lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrator to contact Thina Falls detectives head, Warrant Officer Phakade, at 067-216-9891.
Callers may remain anonymous.
Daily Dispatch
