A pregnant matric pupil has died after being stabbed in the stomach and chest, allegedly by someone known to her.
|||Cape Town - A pregnant matric pupil has died after being stabbed in the stomach and chest, allegedly by someone known to her.
Ncebakazi Bili, 20, from Samora Machel, Philippi, was eight months pregnant and had just completed her final matric exams. She was planning to study electrical engineering at UCT next year, but her life was cut tragically short at the weekend.
The 20-year-old suspect is believed to have stabbed her in an apparent jealous rage. He was drinking with friends at Bili’s house before the incident.
The stabbing happened late on Saturday and came just two days before the end of the 16 Days of Activism for No violence Against Women and Children.
Bili’s cousin, Nomava Mbengu, said the family – especially Bili’s father – was distraught. She said the family had lost its breadwinner and a hard worker.
Mbengu said the family was drinking and “chilling” while Bili was sitting on the steps outside.
The suspect, who was known to her, was also there.
Mbengu said the suspect, who lives next door, left for a while and when he came back he allegedly stabbed her.
Mbengu said they didn’t hear Bili’s screams because of the loud music, but another man apparently threw the suspect out when he realised what had happened.
“Her brother and some of the other guys hit him and he was sent to hospital, the residents were furious and also wanted to hit him but our family stopped them,” Mbengu said.
She explained that the suspect’s family took him to hospital and left Bili, who had collapsed, lying outside her home in Samora Machel.
“His family has a car and they took him to hospital and left her lying here in the yard, she died before getting to the hospital. By the time we got there they said there was nothing they could do,” Mbengu said.
Another family member, Siphokazi Billy, said that if the suspect’s family had taken her to the hospital in time she might have survived.
“If his family took her first she would have been here now, but they just didn’t care,” Billy said.
The family said that Bili was stabbed five times in the stomach and chest and died right in front of them.
Her younger sister, Nandipha, relied a lot on her sister and didn’t take the news well as her older sister was more like a mother to her.
“She took care of us and did people’s hair so we could have food on the table,” she said.
Nandipha said their mother died in 2010 and her father, who stayed in Nyanga and checked on them regularly, was distraught by the news.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut confirmed the stabbing and said the incident was being investigated.
“I can confirm that a 20-year-old female was stabbed to death after a domestic dispute and the suspect is yet to be arrested,” Traut said. He added that they could not confirm the injuries sustained by the victim.
The funeral will be held in Bili’s hometown of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. The family said they would be leaving on Friday to attend the funeral on Saturday.
yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za
Cape Argus