South Africa is still celebrating Women’s Month and the story of a woman known only as Nosicelo paints a horrid picture of how far we are from a solution to gender-based violence (GBV).
What happened to Nosicelo?
A woman who’s only identified herself as a neighbour posted an account of the events that allegedly took place in her residential complex in Quigney, East London on Tuesday evening.
Based on her account, Nosicelo, an LLB student at the University of Fort Hare, was last seen walking into the housing complex she shared with her boyfriend, earlier that day.
The woman claims that later that evening, noises were heard coming from the couple’s communal dormitory.
While none of the housemates investigated the source of the heckling, they assumed it came from the boyfriend’s room since Nosicelo was allegedly heard crying out for help.
“Eventually there was just silence, the other occupants had not intervened and they assumed they had just ironed out their issue,” the neighbour wrote.
A day later, a vagrant who’d discovered a bloody suitcase and a black refuse bag dumped outside of a residential property on the corner of Fleet and Fitzpatrick Road in Quigney, alerted patrol officers and that’s how Nosicelo’s remains were discovered.
WARNING: The video embedded below contains graphic imagery that may be harmful to sensitive viewers. Viewers’ discretion is strongly advised.
It looked just like a person was kneeling from a distance but that was her body, just dumped there like that pic.twitter.com/cLrSu1b94i
— #JusticeForNosicelo (@macboneless) August 19, 2021
While the probe into the death of the 23-year-old is ongoing, it’s widely believed that her boyfriend, aged 25, is responsible for the heinous killing.
What the police have said thus far
Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana issued a statement on Thursday, confirming that the man believed to be responsible for the dismembering of Nosicelo has been placed under arrest and charged with her murder.
According to police, the suitcase plastic packets stuffed with Nosicelo’s torso, pieces from her arms, legs and other body parts.
It’s believed that her head, loosely attached to her neck, and hands were found in the boyfriend’s closet hours later, after a bystander pointed police to the house the couple resided in on Fleet Street.
“This is one of the devastating scenes women do not want to see during this Women’s Month. The incident represents a manifestation of the stubbornness of gender-based violence and femicide incidents which are endemic within our society,” provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga said in a statement.
Who killed Nosicelo? – Here’s what we know
The person who may hold the answers to what really happened to Nosicelo is her 25-year-old boyfriend whose name was leaked on social media.
For legal reasons, Swisher Post News will not release this information until the suspect has appeared before a court of law.
From what we know, the suspect lived with Nosicelo in a communal residence in Quigney and according to neighbours who’ve shared accounts on social media following the gruesome discovery, quarrels coming from the couple’s room had become a common occurrence.
So much so, that when Nosicelo was heard crying for help on that fateful night, everyone in the house opted to stay out of the couple’s business, chalking it up to this being yet another instance of a fiery clash that would end in hugs.
Instead, this was the last time the law student was seen or heard from. The next sighting of Nosicelo was the most gruesome discovery made by those who found her pieces stuffed in a suitcase and refuse bag.
The man accused of her murder is expected to appear in court on Monday to register the charge.
This is a developing story and further updates will be provided as more information trickles in.