Candlelight vigil and petition as community mourns Siphokazi Mali

Marselle residents signed a petition opposing bail for a man  due to appear in court today, Monday May 27 following the discovery of Siphokazi Mali’s body on the outskirts of Marselle on the morning of Thursday May 23. South African Police Service spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy said the man, 33, who was arrested on Thursday, allegedly confessed to Mali’s murder and was expected to enter a plea in the Kenton Magistrate’s Court today.

Silhouetted against the setting sun, a group of around 100 people gathered yesterday at the end of a long, dusty road in Marselle, to honour the memory of Mali, 28, at the place where her body was found on Thursday morning. Tears flowed and protest songs blended with church hymns as the group, somber in black, paid tribute to the young woman who leaves behind devastated family and friends.

REST IN PEACE, SIPHOKAZI MALI: CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Last Thursday, a group of around 200 Marselle residents marched to Kenton-on-Sea to express their outrage after Mali’s body was found lying in the veld between Riversbend and Marselle at around 7.45am on Thursday May 23.

Police spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy said that when the police arrived, the body was already decomposed. The police initially named her as 28-year-old Ntombizanele Mali; however, she was known as Siphokazi by her family and the community.

Mali was reported missing on Tuesday May 21 at 9.15pm by her mother. It was alleged that she went missing on Friday, May 17. An inquest was opened pending the outcome of the post-mortem.

However, during a community meeting in Marselle last Thursday, residents expressed anger and set off towards ekuPhumleni. Talk of the Town understands that the man they believed was connected with the woman’s death lived there.

“There were those who tried to persuade them to rather protest outside the court if the man is arrrested,” said a resident who attended the meeting. “But they were determined to march to the home of the man who they have accused.”

THE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL: https://fb.watch/skcqsefJWS/