Benson Ntlemo

Malamulele police have vowed to arrest the killers of a teenage schoolgirl that the perpetrators raped and stabbed 66 times.

The police believe that the 15-year-old girl was raped before being stabbed to death.

Villagers said the last time the teenager was seen alive was when she left her home to visit her aunt in a neighbouring village.

The body of Nsovo Sambo, a Grade 9 pupil at the EPP Mhinga High School, was found in the veld between Makhasa and Greenfarm villages.

The girl's distraught mother, Elisa Sambo, said news of her child's death was broadcast on radio before she was told about it.

Police spokesman Inspector Alson Mapindani said the police were called to the scene of the murder and found Sambo body in the veld.

"We were told the girl was walking from Madonsi and was going to Greenfarm, where her aunt lives," Mapindani said.

He said at Greenfarm the girl allegedly told her aunt she was going to Makhasa to visit her grandmother.

"She never came back. Her body was found the following day," Mapindani said.

He said it appeared she had been raped repeatedly before being stabbed.

The motive for the killing was unknown. No arrests have been made.

Mapindani said: "This is one of the most brutal murders we have come across in the area. We will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book."

Local people said this was the third such incident in the Sambo family.

"The bodies of two people from the same household were earlier also found and no arrests have been made," said a villager who wanted to remain anonymous. "This type of thing is common to the Sambo family."