Asithandile “Kwasa” Zozo
Image source: Twitter
Man accused of murdering ‘Kwasa’ Zozo abandons bail
The 22-year-old suspect made his second appearance at the Dutywa Magistrate’s Court, just a week after allegedly murdering Wits student Asithandile Zozo
Asithandile “Kwasa” Zozo
Image source: Twitter
The man accused of murdering University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) student, Asithandile ‘Kwasa’ Zozo, has abandoned his application for bail.
The suspect, 22-year-old Viwe Rulumeni, appeared before the Dutywa Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday, 26 August 2020, where the matter was set to be heard.
However, the court proceedings didn’t last very long after Rulumeni said he would not be seeking bail, reportedly out of fear for his life.
The case has now been moved to 6 October 2020.
A bitter former boyfriend
“After the state indicated that it was ready to entertain bail application, Rulumeni’s attourney informed the court that he no longer wanted to be released on bail and the matter was postponed to 6 October for further investigation”, said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luyolo Mtyali in a brief statement.
He is accused of viciously stabbing 19-year-old woman to death on Monday, 17 August 2020. Rulemeni is said to have been Kwasa’s former boyfriend was apparently angry after she refused to continue pursuing a relationship with him.
He is alleged to have subsequently attempted to commit suicide by swallowing pills, but he survived and was under police guard at a hospital in Butterworth.
Family: ‘We want justice’
Zozo was a first year student at the Johannesburg-based institution and was studying towards a degree in biochemistry.
The pain is still very much raw for the Zozo family, which had to lay their daughter to rest on Saturday, 22 August 2020.
The family wants to see justice served for their child who was taken away just two months shy of her 20th birthday.
“Kwasa did not deserve to die such a horrible death. Her untimely passing has left us with scars that may never heal. But her life gave us memories no-one can take away”, her mother Ntombekhaya Lugalo-Zozo is quoted as saying at her funeral.
“The courts must play their part in the war against gender-based violence”, she added.
Kwasa’s brutal death came a week before the one year anniversary of Uyinene Mrwetyana’s murder. Just like Zozo, Mrwetyana, a University of Cape Town (UCT) student, was just 19-years-old when she was killed by a worker at the Post Office in Claremont.
The man, 42-year-old Luyanda Botha confessed to raping and striking her with a massive scale before setting her body alight. Botha received three life sentences for the killing.
