A 73-year-old widow has admitted to gruesomely hacking her 45-year-old lover to death out of jealousy.
The incident allegedly occurred a week ago during an altercation over a phone call from the man’s other girlfriend.
The couple was relaxing in the man’s house, located around Maloma when his cellphone rang. He picked it, and upon hearing the conversation, which was punctuated by romantic utterances, the woman noticed that the caller was a female.
Out of jealousy, she snatched the phone from the man and asked why he was entertaining another lover in her presence. Before he knew it, she slapped him across the face and they started fighting. The woman went on to pick up a knobkerrie belonging to the man and struck him in the head and he fell.
She reportedly informed the police that she proceeded to pick up an axe nearby and started hacking the man all over the body. The man sustained injuries on both legs and in the head.
She said she violently attacked him until he lost conscience.
Realising the extent of her actions, the woman reached for a blanket, covered the man’s motionless body and then locked the door before fleeing the place. She took the man’s phone and went to her home, which is located in the same vicinity.
The man was only discovered four days later, after a friend started searching for him.
The woman was arrested a day after the macabre discovery. She was apprehended on Thursday morning at her marital homestead and taken to Lubulini Police Station, where she was detained and subsequently charged with murder.
It was during interrogation that the woman admitted that she had attacked the man using an axe and a knobkerrie.
She was expected to make her initial appearance at the Big-Bend Circuit Court.
The incident was confirmed by acting Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Mazwi Ndzimandze.
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The unresponsive body of Thembinkosi Buthelezi of Phophonyane, who worked as a herdsman at a farm located in Maloma, was found covered in a blanket, with a gashing wound on the forehead, while both legs were fractured.
The gruesome discovery was made by Michael Ngcamphalala, Buthelezi’s friend on Wednesday last week.
Ngcamphalala said he had last seen his friend at a shebeen on Saturday, in the company of his lover, who is now facing charges in relation to the alleged murder.
Ngcamphalala said he had failed to reach his friend on his cellphone, and he started being suspicious when his lover gave conflicting information regarding the man’s whereabouts.
“At first she said he was out and would get back to me once he returns home. However, she later changed the story to say he had gone to Siteki. That was when I started asking around to ascertain if there was anyone who had met him,” narrated Ngcamphalala.
He later proceeded to his friend’s house on Wednesday morning. He had been calling his friend’s number on several occasions, with no one picking up. He said at times the phone rang unanswered, and when it was eventually answered by the man’s lover, she gave confusing accounts of the man’s whereabouts.
The confusion deepened when Ngcamphalala found the house locked. The lover was nowhere to be found. He decided to peep through the windows. This was after knocking on the door endlessly. Inside the house, Ngcamphalala found the unresponsive and bloodied body of his friend, which was covered in a blanket. Both his legs were fractured, with a gashing wound on the forehead. Police had to break the door in order to gain access.
The man was certified dead on the scene. His body had no pulse and was in near decomposition.Residents provided several accounts regarding the man’s death to the police. However, they all confirmed that he was last seen in the company of his lover.
A few knives, an axe, a knobkerrie, a bushknife and a slasher were found in the compound.
Buthelezi had been raised at a certain homestead in Nkonjwa. He had found employment at a farm located at Maloma where he was looking after cattle. While staying at the farm the man became acquainted to the woman, who was widowed following the death of her husband a long time ago.
