Bitterness has arisen in the family of a woman who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, who buried her in a suitcase in November last year, when the University of KwaZulu-Natal handed over her degrees to the family at the graduation ceremony held on Friday in Durban.
The body of Zinhle Simphiwe Mchunu (23) from Roosboom, Mnambithi, who was doing her final year of teaching at this university, was found buried in a suitcase in a grave near the flat where her boyfriend lived in C, Mlaza, on December 20, 2025.
When the body was found, he had been missing for a month, as it is said that he was last seen alive on November 23, 2025.
His sister, Ms. Nolwazi Mchunu, said It is a country that we started from scratch and healed the wound of the brutal killing of the deceased.
“I felt sad when the student who was in front of his name in the list of graduating students was called, he stood up and was awarded his degree. When his name was called, no one stood up, until another one was announced after him,” said Ms. Mchunu.
He said that’s when the feeling that his sister is no longer in the world came back and he left them in a cruel way.
He said that after the ceremony, they were called aside and received the deceased’s diploma, as well as flowers and a card with a message that the university had written to his mother. He said the mother of the deceased could not make it to the event as she is a remote worker.
He said it occurred to them that the deceased would have been happy, something that cannot be explained, if this time had come and he was still eating. He said he was a forward-thinking person and hoped that his future would definitely be bright as he studied at a higher education institution.
“He was about to say that he is looking for a job because he has already received his degree,” he said.
He said that there has not been much movement in the case as the trial has not yet started. He said it is still adjourned at the Mlaza Magistrate’s Court, and the suspect, Mr. Themba Xaba (24), is still in prison because he was not released on bail.
When the incident happened, it is said that the deceased – who had finished his final year exams at the university – went to the student residence in Pinetown, as someone who was going to visit his boyfriend in Mlaza. It is suspected that they had an argument, the suspect killed him, and buried him in a suitcase. It is said that after he killed her, he pretended to be the person asking to be wanted, and wrote on social media that his lover was missing, he went out at night after an argument.
The family had questions when they arrived at the suspect’s apartment, asking if he was on his own, how did he leave at night and leave his mobile phone and wallet, which would help him pay the fare to the one he was going to?
After the family was not satisfied with the police investigation that took the suspect, he was questioned, and then he was released, it is said that there is no concrete evidence that he is involved, the family hired an independent investigator, who discovered that the suspect was actually involved.
Among the information obtained by the private investigator, that on the days the deceased disappeared, the suspect once borrowed tools to dig a hole from his stands, saying he wanted to do something. When an investigation was carried out near the flat, a shallow grave was found where the suspect had buried the deceased with a suitcase, and they cried for him like that.