Johannesburg - Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said the most devastating thing about the murder of a medical intern at Mankweng Hospital was the fact that she would have been the first doctor in her village.

Mkhize was speaking on Tuesday at the hospital where the decomposing body of 24-year-old medical intern Shongile Pretty Nkhwashu was discovered in her room on Sunday evening.

"I must say this is one of the most devastating stories, the loss of a young girl, a doctor who would have been the first to be a doctor in her village.

"As a department we were so excited to have been able to place every single doctor because they are very special, rare and have important skills for the country," Mkhize said.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize and Limpopo MEC for Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba speak to Shongile Nkwashu's colleagues at Mankweng Hospital. Nkwashu's decomposing body was found n Sunday evening and her boyfriend has been arrested for her murder. Picture: Supplied.

Mkhize was accompanied to the hospital by Limpopo Province Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba where they both updated Nkhwashu's colleagues on how far investigations into her murder were.



Police made the grisly discovery on Sunday evening after they were called by Nkwashu's colleagues following a stench that was coming from her room.

They broke down the door and found her decomposing body on the bed. Her boyfriend has since been arrested and charged with her murder.