The family of Lorna Shibambu, who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Derrick Khoza, is seeking justice and wants nothing but a life sentence for the accused.
During an exclusive interview with The Tembisan, Shibambu’s mother, Mpho Ramanugu, said nothing would console her more than seeing her daughter’s killer jailed for life.
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“I know this will not bring my daughter back but it will surely serve as justice for the rest of the family,” said Ramanugu, who described her daughter as a go-getter who was studying towards a qualification in civil engineering at Vhembe TVET College in Limpopo.
“She was full of life and had bigger dreams, not just for herself but for the entire family. Being the eldest child, she has always wanted to do great things for us, including transforming our lives for the better. She would tell me that she would one day buy us a decent house, but that dream is gone now,” she said.
Shibambu had passed some of her first-year subjects with distinction and died just two days before she was about to go back to school to register.
“I still don’t know why he killed my daughter and the thought of how painfully she died gives me sleepless nights,” she added.
The mother revealed this was not the first time her daughter nearly died.
“Not so long ago, my child was poisoned and was admitted to Tembisa Hospital where she recovered. I am not saying that I am 100 per cent sure the same accused did it, but we can never rule anything out. For the fact that he (Khoza) handed himself over to police and told them what he had done, is somehow proof enough that he could have been behind this poisoning,” Ramanugu mentioned.
“I think my daughter somehow knew that her time was slowly fading because she just spent the entire festive holidays taking me and the rest of the family out,” she said.
“My child died a painful death and no one deserves that, but I hope and pray that justice will prevail,” she concluded.
Shibambu will be laid to rest on Saturday in her home town Venda, Limpopo. The family awaits the formal postmortem results which will determine exactly how Shibambu died.
Meanwhile, the accused has made his first court appearance last Thursday and will appear again on February 28. He was remanded in custody.
