Zanele Dibaza, a 21-year-old woman, was tragically murdered by her boyfriend in Greenfields, Gqeberha, South Africa, on New Year’s Day, 1st January 2025.
The advocacy group, Women For Change, revealed this in a statement on Wednesday, 8th January 2024.
Zanele’s family became concerned when she failed to return home. Her sister, Anela, went to her boyfriend’s house, where she discovered Zanele’s naked body with severe injuries.
Despite being rushed to the hospital, Zanele was pronounced dead on arrival.
The boyfriend, a 25-year-old man identified as Baxolise, surrendered himself to the authorities and has been charged with murder. He appeared in court on Friday, 3rd January, and his case was remanded.
Anela recounted the horrifying ordeal, stating that Zanele had planned to treat her family to a day at the beach for the first time in three years.
“Baxolise came to pick her up from our house and she had promised she’d buy snacks for the little ones in the house. So when she didn’t come home for hours on end, I decided to go to her boyfriend’s house to ask her to give me her bank card,” said Anela. “When I got there, I knocked and her boyfriend told me to wait. I waited for about 30 minutes and he still wouldn’t open. I called out for his mother and she used a knife to open his backroom door and when we got inside my sister was lying there naked with her head swollen and a scar on her forehead wide open.”
Anela said Baxolise was still angry and aggressive. “He tried to force her sister to stand up saying that she was faking not being able to get up.”
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge confirmed that Baxolise handed himself over to the authorities on 1st January.
“She and her partner were at her house on 1 January and everything seemed fine before they left together at about 6.30am. About an hour later, her sister wanted her to go with them to the shop and she found her sister at the boyfriend’s house in the same area,” said Beetge.
“She had suffered severe head wounds and was rushed to hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Vuso appeared in court on Friday on a charge of murder and his case was remanded to a later date.”
Friends held a candlelight vigil for Zanele on Wednesday, 8th January, in Qunu, Booysens Park, to honour her memory.
