Lufuno Mavungha’s father is at his wit’s end and believes the police and justice system have miserably failed his daughter, who was bullied to death by her schoolmates two years ago.
It’s been a period of two years since the death of young Lufuno Mavhunga, who was a learner at Mbilwi Secondary School. Mavhunga took her life in April 2021 after a video of her being bullied by a fellow learner at the school went viral on social media.
The girl who had allegedly bullied Lufuno was subsequently charged with common assault and later appeared in the children’s court for a formal bail application and was granted a bail of R1,500, but Lufuno’s father, Mr Joseph Mavhunga, feels that the justice system has failed his daughter.
“It has been over two years now, and I have never been called to court or received any information regarding the case. I only received news of the case being thrown out of court by the Munna ndi nnyi foundation. Not only do I feel like the justice system has failed my daughter, but that I too have failed her because I cannot fight for her,” he said with sadness.
Mavhunga said he had forgiven the girl who had assaulted Lufuno, but he wanted to see her face the justice system. “I don’t want them to kill her. We just want her to have her day in court, like anyone else. Is it too much to ask? She can’t just get away with it so easily.”
The spokesperson of Makhado police, sergeant Tshifhiwa Radzilani said, however, the case had not been thrown out entirely, it had only been provisionally withdrawn because the DPP had given an instruction to the investigating office to adhere to first.
Mavhunga said he was also disappointed with the girl’s family, as they had never even come to apologize for their daughter’s actions. “I won’t chase them away if they come here. All I want is justice for my daughter, not war. They must come and apologize so that we can have peace and closure.”
He expressed his gratitude again for Netshituni Bus Service for their support during these trying times. The bus company’s manager, Mr Vusani Masakona, in turn said they were dedicated to helping the Mavhunga family. “We have been visiting them every year since Lufuno’s death. We want to make sure that they are okay, and we will help them in any way possible,” said Masakona.
