The tragic ending of the lives of a mother, her niece and the man responsible for the heinous crimes has left the Malungane village, in Limpopo, reeling in shock.
Limpopo community shocked by murder-suicide
At approximately 21:00 on Monday evening, gunshots were heard ringing from a home in the village located next to Namakgale, on the outskirts of Phalaborwa.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, responding officers walked into a crime scene that will be etched in their memories forever.
A man was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and nearby, a woman believed to be his romantic partner lay dead with similar wounds.
He raped his daughter before attempting to kill her
Another female, a 27-year-old believed to be the woman’s niece, was also found dead on the scene. In all the carnage, a 16-year-old female was found alive and emergency services were called to quickly hurry her to a nearby hospital where she has since been receiving treatment.
However, a ray of hope in this tragedy is a lifetime nightmare for the 16-year-old. In a statement, Brigadier Mojapelo revealed that the events that unfolded at that household may have been sparked by a rape case that was filed by the 16-year-old against her father.
“The victim allegedly visited her father at Palesa Section, Namakgale on 13 June 2020 and requested him to train her on how to drive a motor vehicle. After the driving lessons, they reportedly went to Namakgale complex and then proceeded to the house at Palesa where the rape took place.,” the Limpopo police statement read.
It is not clear, at this stage, what transpired between then and the fateful Monday evening but according to police, the 16-year-old only reported the crime earlier that day.
‘gender-based violence must be condemned’ – Limpopo top-cop
The motive behind this heinous act beset by a father will never be truly established. It died along with him when he turned the 9mm pistol, after killing his partner and her niece, and killed himself.
Limpopo Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba condemned the unspeakable crime.
“As the Province is currently fighting the scourge of gender-based violence, incidents of this nature, where a man rapes his daughter and then goes on to commit horrendous crimes against the vulnerable members of the society, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Ledwaba said.
