Young mom killed as she walked home

15 August 2019 - 06:52
By Peter Ramothwala
Ntwanano Baloyi
Ntwanano Baloyi

A 28-year-old mother of two was stabbed four times and killed in the streets while carrying her one-year-old daughter.

Ntwanano Baloyi from Tsakane informal settlement in Giyani, Limpopo, was attacked allegedly by a jealous ex-lover.

She was killed while walking home after visiting a a local tuckshop owner.

The shop owner, Connie Maswanganyi, who is also Baloyi's friend, said Baloyi had recently said her ex-boyfriend was threatening to kill her.

"I don't know her ex-boyfriend because I have never met him. I know her daughter's father and I know that they were in love," she said.

Maswanganyi said she spent a few hours with Baloyi watching a series of local soapies in her house on the day of her murder.

"She usually come to my house and we talk about a lot of things. Around 7pm on Monday, she came to my house with her one-year-old child and she looked unhappy.

"I asked her what was the problem, she told me that her ex-boyfriend was bothering her but we didn't talk much about it," Maswanganyi said.

"When she was about to leave I warned her not to use the passage because it's not safe from 9pm due to robberies committed there."

Maswanganyi was informed about Baloyi's death by a neighbour less than an hour after she had left her house.

"I rushed to the scene and she was still breathing but bleeding. The baby was crying next to her," she told Sowetan yesterday.

"She was lying on the ground and couldn't speak. I held onto her deep wound on the chest to prevent her from losing more blood and I screamed her name.

"She opened her eyes and called my name then closed them, and she stopped breathing."

Baloyi's brother Never, 33, said the family was told by neighbours that they suspected her Mozambican ex-boyfriend of the murder.

"We are hurt as a family and what is deeply hurting is the fact that she also left a seven-year-old son.

"The little one was still breastfeeding. We are facing a difficult situation of raising these children who would no longer know their mother's love," Never said.

He said his sister had four deep stab wounds in her body.

Never described his younger sister as caring and loving, and with a sense of humour.

Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said police were investigating a case of murder.

"No arrests have been made at this point," Ngoepe said.