WHEN Nozipho got the call that her son had died from stab wounds she felt no pain. At only 17, the teenager had died the way he had lived - as a gang member who had robbed, stolen and done battle on the streets. "I AM HAPPY THAT MY SON IS DEAD," NOZIPHO TOLD DAILY SUN.

"I cried no tears. I felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders," said Nozipho Nyovane (41), the mother of three from Browns Farm in Philippi. "I knew my son's days were numbered because of the way he lived. I pleaded with him to stop stealing and robbing people but he wouldn't listen."

Her firstborn, Aphiwe Nyovane, was a Vura gang member for more than two years. The grade 8 drop-out from Intsebenziswano High School in Philippi was stabbed and killed at Ngulube circle by the rival gang group amaVato on Saturday.

Aphiwe was found by passersby with several deep cut wounds on his head. "I went to see him in the mortuary and he had been beaten badly. His head was cut open. They had struck him with kitchen knives and pangas," said Nozipho.

She said she was not surprised that her son had died violently. "I knew Aphiwe's days were numbered because of the way he lived," said Nozipho. "I pleaded for him to stop stealing and robbing people but he wouldn't listen."

The unemployed mother said the people he stole from used to come to her house and beat her up for the sins of her son. "I have been punched and beaten because my son was a thief and a gangster. "Other people took my belongings, saying he had stolen from them," she said. "But that is a thing of the past. I will sleep better at night."

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