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News - Date: 26 May 2006
Barely two hours after the Limpopo’s MEC for Safety, Security and Liaison, Machwene Semenya, addressed a crime-prevention rally on Friday at Makonde village, a famous traditional healer of Khubvi, a village near Makonde, shot and killed his wife and later committed suicide.
Livhuwani Mphaga (38) shot his wife Mashudu (35) in the head on Friday. He then fled the scene and his body was found next to the Mudaswali River, outside Thohoyandou, with a gunshot to the face, on Saturday morning. A handgun was lying next to his lifeless body.
Villagers say the couple had a history of violence in the past year and they were no longer staying together. They say the husband had just served an eight months prison term after he had assaulted his wife and threatened to kill her.
A villager, who did not want to named, said the couple were always at loggerheads. “The husband always threatened to kill her, until she decided to go back to stay with her parents. The wife applied for a protection order, but it did not help. He spent Christmas and Good Friday behind bars, because of the violence against his wife. When he came back from prison, he tried to persuade her to come back but she would not agree.”
Another villager, who witnessed the murder of the wife, said the couple had a serious argument before the incident. “I was passing near their home when I heard the wife screaming that the husband waned to kill her with a gun. I went to investigate, because I could see there were other astonished villagers in the yard. The wife ran outside the house and the husband fired the first shot, which missed her. Everyone dispersed until we heard another gunshot, which killed her instantly. The husband fled the scene and when we went back, we found the wife lying in a pool of blood…”
After the incident, family members tried to locate the traditional healer but they failed to find him. Sources say the traditional healer called a family member at about 02:00 in the morning and said they had to come and collect his hand gun near the Mudaswali River in the morning. Family members were shocked to find him dead next to a mango tree.
Insp Nkanukeni Raedani of the Thoyandou Police confirmed the incident. “We have opened murder and inquest dockets following the incident. We seized an unlicensed hand gun which was found at the scene where the man committed suicide. The wife had a gun wound in the head, behind the ear, and the husband had a gun wound to the face.”
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