Homicide investigators in Tzaneen, Limpopo, have opened a double murder-suicide inquest into the tragic deaths of Gladwin Mboweni, Statistic South Africa’s (Stats SA) Acting District Manager and his two daughters, 13-year-old Mikateko Tonia and her younger sister Tsakane Tilda.
Stats SA manager and his daughters killed in house fire
On Monday morning, firefighters and emergency rescuers descended onto the residence of the 51-year-old, in Nkowankowa township, after neighbours stumbled on the house engulfed in flames.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Mgoepe, witnesses reported that Mboweni and his daughters were believed to be inside the burning house at the time it was discovered, at approximately 07:00 on Monday.
“The neighbours allegedly saw the house engulfed in flames and jumped over the wall fence in an attempt to rescue the occupants. They then broke one of the windows to get inside and in the process, managed to rescue the father who had already suffered from smoke inhalation,” Brigadier Mgoepe noted in a statement.
Limpopo police believe it was a double murder-suicide
The blazing fire was successfully extinguished and inside the house, rescuers discovered the charred bodies of Mikateko and Tsakane in what was once their respective rooms.
A preliminary inspection of the scene exposed a harrowing detail about how the fire may have started. It’s believed that Mboweni used a highly flammable substance to ignite the flames that burned his home into the ground.
Whether the daughters were alive when the house was engulfed in flames was not confirmed at the time this article was published.
“Preliminary police investigations revealed that the relationship between the deceased and his wife became strained and that they were separated for the past four years. The daughters were staying with the father in Nkowankowa while the mother was staying in Vhembe,” Mgoepe added.
More updates are expected once arson experts and forensics have inspected the scene.