“She Was Like Family”: Khayelitsha in Shock After 7-Year-Old Lolitha Kowa’s Murder

Community outrage grows after sniffer dogs lead police to the heartbreaking truth

Khayelitsha is no stranger to violence, but even in a community hardened by crime, the murder of seven-year-old Lolitha Kowa has left residents shaken, furious, and mourning a life taken far too soon, allegedly by people the family trusted.

Lolitha vanished on a quiet Tuesday afternoon after school. She told her family she was heading out to play at a friend’s house. She never came back.

By the next morning, her lifeless body was found discarded in Nambuzane Street. A screwdriver was still embedded in her skull.

And the clothes she was wearing? Her pants were washed and hanging on the very washing line of the woman whose house she said she was visiting, a woman the Kowa family once welcomed like a sister.

Sniffer dogs uncover a bloody truth

It was the sharp nose of a police sniffer dog that finally pointed detectives in the right direction. According to SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg, the dog led an integrated investigation team to a nearby home in Sindwadwa Street, not far from where Lolitha was last seen.

There, the dog detected blood on a mop and smeared across the floor.

“The biological sniffer dog reacted to the blood evidence. The adult male and female inside were arrested later that day,” said Twigg.

The suspects, believed to be the mother of Lolitha’s friend and her boyfriend, are expected to appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court today.

A betrayal the family never saw coming

For Ntombifuthi Kowa, Lolitha’s aunt, the heartbreak runs even deeper knowing the accused woman was part of their daily lives.

“She was like family,” Kowa said, holding back tears. “She could come into our home at any time. We never fought. We trusted her.”

Kowa recalls the rising panic when Lolitha didn’t return home by 5pm on Tuesday. The family searched frantically. By 9pm, they called police. But it wasn’t until the next morning, via a community WhatsApp group, that they saw a photo that confirmed their worst fears.

“We recognised her by her clothes,” said Kowa. “We rushed to the scene. She had been stabbed in the head. Her stomach looked bloated. It was horrifying.”

Missed opportunities and a cry for urgency

The family says they visited the suspect’s home three times during the search, but the woman refused to open the door. Police were slow to respond, citing a lack of vans and equipment.

“We begged police to help us search,” said family friend Mickey Linda. “We were told there was only one van, and it didn’t have a loud hailer. We felt helpless.”

This wasn’t the first time the suspect had taken Lolitha without informing the family, Linda added. On one occasion, she allegedly took the child to Nkanini overnight. But Lolitha was safely returned. That memory now haunts the family.

“This time, her refusal to open the door felt different,” Linda said.

Outrage in the streets of Kuyasa

By Thursday afternoon, the community’s grief turned to rage. Residents marched to the police station, demanding arrests and justice.

“The evidence was clear. The sniffer dogs showed where it happened. But the suspects were only taken in for questioning,” said Ward Councillor Lonwabo Mqina. “That’s what made the community explode. We were scared they’d walk free.”

Mqina called the murder “ruthless” and “heartless,” urging police to ensure the suspects never see freedom again.

“A screwdriver left in a child’s head? That’s not just murder, that’s evil,” he said.

Khayelitsha’s haunting question: Why?

As court proceedings begin, the people of Kuyasa are left grappling with more than grief. There’s a deep sense of betrayal, a fear for their children’s safety, and a desperate need for answers.

Lolitha’s story is now a painful reminder that violence against children isn’t just a crime, it’s a devastation of trust, family, and the innocence of childhood.

While the courts will determine guilt, the community has already rendered its own verdict: “They must rot in jail.”

{Source: IOL}

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