The fact that a suspect appeared in court in connection with Sisipho Mayile’s murder brings little comfort to her family.
So said Sisipho’s stepfather Zukisa Fono last week outside the Hermanus Magistrates’ Court where Mzukiseni Mandoyi (26) appeared in connection with the young girl’s murder.
“If this is the man,” he said, “even if they lock him up and throw away the key, it won’t bring back Sisipho. In jail he (the suspect) will receive three meals a day and a hot bath while our daughter lies in her grave, so there is no justice.
“This will sound brutal, but for me as a father justice will never be served, because he will never go through what Sisipho went through.”
The police confirmed Mandoyi had been released on bail in connection with another murder only three weeks before Sisipho’s body was found.
The 21-year-old’s body was found in bushes near Camphill in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley outside Hermanus on 25 January, a few days after she had been reported missing.
Since then, residents of Zwelihle, along with the Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and DA Overstrand constituency head, Masizole Mnqasela, Overstrand Mayor Annelie Rabie and local councillors marched to Hermanus Police Station on three occasions to demand “Justice for Sisipho”.
At the previous march on Monday 4 April, Mnqasela handed over a memorandum to the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Thembisile Patekile. One of the demands was that detectives from the provincial police headquarters should be assigned to the murder investigation.
Fono says two detectives from the provincial head office visited his family a short while later. A week later they informed him a suspect would be taken in for “more questioning”.
“I am not sure if he was one of the two men who were arrested but later released,” said Fono.
“Every Friday is a reminder of the night I last saw her. When we heard that somebody had been arrested, it brought a small measure of ease.”
He said the man accused of Sisipho’s murder acted suspiciously when he saw him in Zwelihle.
“The day we went to bury Sisipho he couldn’t face me. The fact that he had been released on bail for another murder is a very clear indication our justice system is not strict, not tough enough. This shows if he gets bail he will continue (to murder).”
Mnqasela also expressed outrage when it was revealed during court proceedings that the suspect had been released on bail for another murder case.
“So right now we have the suspect, and we know about his history, but we do not know whether this is the person that has killed Sisipho. That is what we need to know now.”
Fono thanked the Speaker, Mayor and community for supporting his family. “Since day 1, when we came forward to the community to ask for assistance in searching for Sisipho, up until today, the community has been with us,” he stated. “We thank everyone for supporting my family.”
The accused will remain in custody until his formal bail application on Tuesday 3 May.
The Mayor requested the community to come out in large numbers to court to show their support for Sisipho’s family. “I trust we are at the beginning of the journey to find closure,” she said.
Captain FC van Wyk, a provincial police spokesperson, confirmed Mandoyi had previously been arrested on a charge of murder. “The murder was committed in Zwelihle, Hermanus on 2 December 2021,” he said. “His first appearance in court was on 3 December 2021. He was released on bail on 30 December 2021.”