The kidnapping of a woman and her son in Thohoyandou on Tuesday afternoon sparked fears that gangs specialising in these types of crimes have returned to Vhembe. The kidnapping of members of the Indian community, in particular, peaked in 2022 and 2023. During this period, several people were kidnapped, including prominent businessmen and their family members. This trend stopped when the police arrested two people in June last year.

The Limpopo community came together to bid farewell to a respected figure, Lt-Col Matimba Maluleke, the spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), on Saturday, 16 March. His funeral service took place at his home in Ribungwani and proceeded to the Rivoningo Assemblies of God Church.

A seemingly “sympathetic” robber and rapist got himself arrested after taking his victims to a local clinic to be treated for the injuries sustained in the ordeal.

The Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), in partnership with Limpopo Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism (LEDET) and the University of Venda (Univen), held a Wetland Day at Tshiheni village on Tuesday, 27 February, during which the names of the winners in the Lake Fundudzi Wetland Schools Competition were announced.

Tears of joy flowed when a 16-year-old girl who had disappeared without a trace in July last year was reunited with her family at Mulodi village last Thursday. This came after the story of the disappearance of Tshavhungwa Mmbengwa was reported in the Limpopo Mirror.

The rural village of Bungeni's heritage site was alive with Tshivenda and Xitsonga traditional dances, such as tshigombela and xigubu, along with the drinking of marula beer on Friday, 8 March. This event was hosted and celebrated by the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), in conjunction with the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture, marking the 2024 Vhembe District Ku Luma Vukanyi /U thetshela mukumbi/ Tasting of the marula beer (The Festival of the First Fruit).

Tannie Hettie Naudé van Louis Trichardt het op 7 Maart vanjaar ‘n unieke mylpaal in haar lewe bereik wat bitter min mense beskore is. Sy het haar 100ste verjaarsdag saam met familie en vriende by Ons Tuiste Ouetehuis gevier.

Last Sunday (10^th), the community of Tsianda woke up to the sad news of the gruesome killing of a local man. The deceased, Mr Takalani Magodi (42), met his brutal end after being attacked by an assailant who used an angle grinder to cut and kill him.

Jan “Slang” van Rooyen is ‘n trotse mens en nie iemand wat sommer vir hulp sal vra nie. Tog sal hy uit sy pad uit gaan om ander te help, soos wat hy doen om probleemslange kosteloos by mense te kom verwyder. Onlangse gebeure noop nou dat inwoners hulle harte en hande ook vir Jan sal oopmaak in sy uur van nood.

A 16-year-old student from Silemale Secondary School, Zwidofhela Netshiungani, who had allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday, 27 February after reportedly being bullied by other students at school, was laid to rest at the Khubvi Cemetery on Sunday morning.

Many unanswered questions still surround the death of a security officer. The man, identified as Mr Phathutshedzo Mmbibana (36), who previously resided in Itsani but had recently moved to Dzwerani Mvelaphanda in the Vuwani area, allegedly took his own life by shooting himself in the head.

When the Radzuma brothers’ murder case resumed in the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou on Monday, the court heard how a gardener might have saved the life of one of the officials of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM).