A Rhodes University graduate was stabbed to death on Thursday afternoon while hitchhiking from Port Elizabeth to Grahamstown for her graduation ceremony that evening.
A Rhodes University graduate was stabbed to death on Thursday afternoon while hitchhiking from Port Elizabeth to Grahamstown for her graduation ceremony that evening.
An official statement released today by Rhodes University reads as follows:
"The University regrets to announce the death of Lelona Thembakazi Fufu, a Rhodes University BSc honours student who was due to graduate on Thursday (12 April 2012) evening.
According to the family, Ms Fufu's death was confirmed by the police on Friday afternoon. She was last seen on Thursday at about 14h00 when she left her home in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth, to hitchhike to Grahamstown, where she was to prepare for the Thursday evening graduation ceremony.
The family, who had arranged to travel to Grahamstown later in the afternoon lost contact with her after 14h30, and reported her missing to the police after 19h00 on Thursday following a fruitless search.
The University extends our sympathy to his family, friends and colleagues."
Student newspaper The Oppidan Press reported today that the communications officer for the Motherwell police station, Andre Beetge, had confirmed that Fufu’s body was found near the old Coega Hotel on Friday morning and that she had sustained three to four major stab wounds, and it was presumed she died of those injuries.
There have been allegations that Fufu was also raped, but Beetge told The Oppidan Press that he could not yet confirm whether this was the case, as medical professionals still needed to complete an autopsy.
