The Blue Bulls Rugby Union (BBRU) have released a statement confirming that the union is aware of an alleged murder case involving one of their junior players who represented the Blue Bulls Country Districts during the 2022 season.

This after Ntokozo Mayenzi Xaba (20) was found murdered in her at her residence at the Tshwane University of Technology. Her ex-boyfriend has since been taken in for questioning.

The BBRU says that they do not know the full details pertaining to the incident, but condemned gender-based violence ‘in the strongest terms’.

BBRU president Willem Strauss conveyed a heartfelt message of condolences to the family of the young woman whose life has been untimely cut short.

Also Read: Tshwane university student murdered at campus residence

“I would like to send my heartfelt message of condolences to a family whose world has been turned upside down.  A family who lost a branch from their tree that was filled with so much promise of all that is good about life,” says Strauss.

“As a parent and grandparent, I cannot imagine the amount of pain and sorrow that fills your hearts at this very moment, a pain that is likely to linger for a long while because the void of losing a loved one is never easy, more especially when it is your child.”

“We raise our children to see them rise and blossom into these incredible beings full of potential to change our world and when their lives are cut short, we are never the same because we live in the empty wonder of what could have been. I hope and pray that as a family, God’s love will bring you all the comfort you need in this terrible hour.”

“South Africa continues to bleed, and that bleeding can only be stopped once our women, children and the vulnerable can be assured of their safety, a basic right that seems to be diminishing in value, every day.”

“As a father, I continue to urge and appeal to other parents out there, that we are more intentional with our children as we look to educate, empower and equip them with the necessary life skills that encourage them to learn and deal with their emotions better and more responsibly. Perhaps – I do so today – with more urgency than yesterday because one more young woman has lost her life and that should have never been the case.”