Police in Mpumalanga have arrested a man who allegedly shot and killed his wife and then attempted to take his own life.
“According to reports, the husband came home from work and asked to speak to his wife. They stepped outside for a brief discussion, but the husband went back into the house. Upon going back outside, he allegedly fatally shot his wife as well as shot and wounded himself“, said police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.
“Police as well as the Medical Personnel were notified about the incident and they responded swiftly. The woman was unfortunately declared dead at the scene whilst the husband was rushed to hospital…”, Hlathi added.
The 39 year-old woman leaves behind three children.
The 42 year-old man sustained some injuries and has been placed under police guard in hospital.
In a separate and similar incident, a 44 year-old man with a pending murder case reportedly killed himself after strangling as well as stabbing his 44 year-old wife at Kabokweni.
Preliminary investigations indicate that this was also a violence related incident.
Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Zuma has urged members of the community to refrain from using violence to resolve domestic issues. The General indicated that people should stop perpetuating domestic violence against women and children.
“They should evade violence but rather try to make use of available structures such as Social Workers, Traditional Leaders and other relevant structures to intervene as well as resolve their matters amicably”, said Zuma.
Gender-based violence during lockdown
With the country currently on level four of the shutdown, there have been mounting concerns over an increase in gender-based violence inside households, as the victims, mostly women and children are virtually stuck indoors with their abusers.
Government has also availed a number of avenues for victims of abuse.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a heightened responsiveness, greater awareness and practical measures to assist women who find themselves in vulnerable situations.
“We have developed an emergency pathway for survivors to ensure that victims of GBV are assisted. One of the interventions we have made is to ensure lockdown regulations are structured in a manner that a woman can leave her home to report abuse without fear of intimidation or further violence”, Ramaphosa said.
The president also said the protection of the rights of women and children was fundamentally tied to the country’s sense of nationhood.
