Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide after Virginia Mathibela-Mngomezulu, the leader of AFASA Mpumalanga, was run over by a tractor on a farm near the Estancia hamlet in the Breyten area, close to Ermelo.
By Lebogang Mashala, Editor at African Farming
The Mpumalanga African Farmers Association of South Africa (MP-AFASA) has confirmed the tragic passing of Virginia Mathibela-Mngomezulu (61), the MP-AFASA Women’s Desk chairperson and treasurer of the AFASA Gert Sibande District.
Mathibela-Mngomezulu was fatally struck by a tractor near the Estancia hamlet in the Breyten area, close to Ermelo, Mpumalanga. The incident occurred on a farm leased by Mathibela-Mngomezulu and her husband under the government’s Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) programme.
According to reports, the victim was attempting to stop a tractor operator who was allegedly unauthorised to work the land when the accident occurred.
MP-AFASA chairperson David Mthombeni said the association was deeply saddened by the loss and was engaging with the family as details surrounding the tragedy remain under investigation. “The circumstances are still sketchy and the police are investigating a case of culpable homicide,” he said.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Jabu Ndubane confirmed that officers responded to a call last Wednesday and found the lifeless body of a woman lying in a pool of blood. “They found two men standing near the body of a woman showing no signs of life,” Ndubane said, as reported by Sowetan.
One of the men was identified as the deceased’s husband, James Mngomezulu, who told police he had received a call from farm dwellers alerting him that someone was ploughing on his land without permission.
“He rushed to the scene and upon arrival, his wife got out of the vehicle with a family friend,” Ndubane said. “She was waving her hands, gesturing to the tractor driver, when she was hooked down by the blades from the back of the tractor. It drove over her and she died on the spot.”
The police have since opened a case of culpable homicide and investigations are ongoing.
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