MEMBERS of a Mbhamali family at Maphungwane were left reeling in shock after one of them was found lying dead in a nearby bush on Boxing Day.
A 34-year-old woman who was identified as Gcinile Mbhamali was discovered by her mother shortly after she reported to be responding to the call of nature in a nearby bush.
The family claimed that Gcinile was strangulated and killed by her boyfriend who later committed suicide by hanging himself in the bush.
The first incident was confirmed and recorded by the police as a sudden death.
According to a police statement, the woman was discovered by her mother as she lay dead in a bush situated close to the homestead.
Some members of the family gave an account of what transpired before the shocking discovery.
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The deceased was well-known around Siteki as she traded as an MTN vendor.
A relative who wanted to be identified only as Maziya disclosed that the deceased visited her parental home at Hhukwane on Wednesday for the Christmas holiday.
She is said to have joined her mother and siblings on Boxing Day as they went to work in the fields which are situated close to the homestead. When they returned home at around 10am, Gcinile reported that she wanted to use the toilet.
Prior to the incident, Maziya said the deceased had reported that her boyfriend had threatened to kill her after they had a misunderstanding.
The boyfriend worked as a kombi driver, based in Siteki.
Gcinile is said to have also reported that she received information from her boyfriend’s friends to the effect that he was threatening to kill her and further commit suicide.
“The family did not take this information seriously, until the time when she was discovered dead,” said another relative.
It was only when the woman was discovered lying dead that family members recalled that she had recently reported the death threats by her boyfriend.
“We believe that he strangled her to stop her from screaming because it was too close to the homestead,” said a family member.
The police were called to the scene, upon which statements were recorded.
Following the incident and reports from the family, the police started looking for the boyfriend who was tipped as a suspect in Gcinile’s death.
A search party was eventually launched after his family also reported him as missing.
Another source close to the matter claimed that the boyfriend who was identified as Senzo Matse of Mambane was last seen buying a rope from a hardware in Siteki. This prompted the police and community members to look for him in the bushes.
He was eventually found hanging in the forest which is situated about four kilometers away from Gcinile’s parental home.
Acting Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni confirmed both incidents.
Mnguni said the man was found hanging in a forest following a two-day search after he was reported as a missing person.
He was found yesterday morning.
