Two cousins were found burnt to ashes early last Thursday morning, in a horrifying tragedy that has shaken residents of Mmakgwale lands in the Kweneng District.
Charred remains of the two women, both aged 18, were found inside a corrugated iron structure, while their infants- just six months and three months old, miraculously survived in a nearby hut.
The body of the suspected killer, a 31-year-old herdboy from Serowe, was later found bearing severe burns with a suspected bottle of poison by his side.
He was the father to the younger of the two surviving babies and was reportedly in a toxic relationship with its mother, leading to the deadly confrontation.
The tragic chain of events is said to have started when the suspect, who had asked the two women to take care of the farm before he lured another woman- his ex-girlfriend and mother to his other child from Serowe under the pretense of buying clothes for the baby.
Instead, he drove her to a bush where he raped her at knifepoint and repeated the sexual assault in Mogorosi village and later at Lephephe, where he lived.
The woman managed to escape and reported the incident to the police.
When the police accompanied her to the suspect’s house they were met with a gruesome scene- the lifeless, burnt bodies of the two cousins.
Officer Commanding Kweneng District No. 11, Senior Superintendent Modise Gabatshwane, confirmed the horrific incident. “It is suspected that the flammable substance also spilled on him, and he also caught fire as he sustained serious burn wounds. The police found his body lying a few meters near a metal water trough,” revealed the police officer.
The police chief noted an alarming surge in gender-based violence cases related to love triangles and domestic disputes.
Just from end of last month September 24th, to October 3rd, 2024, Kweneng District recorded eight murder cases.
