In a tragic incident that has all the hallmarks of a crime of passion, Thamaga Police are investigating a possible murder/suicide incident in which a 27-year-old man of Gabane was found hanging from a tree at Ramaphatle last Saturday after the body of his missing girlfriend was found in the bush.
According to Thamaga Police Station Commander, Moses Kwarare, they were notified of the suicide by members of the public who woke up to the horrific incident in the small settlement.
“When we rushed to the scene we found out that indeed a man had hanged himself and there was no identity card or suicide note. Through our investigations we managed to trace his family as well as employer. According to his employer, he left Moshaweng on Thursday where he is employed as a herdsman to go and apply for an Omang card but he never arrived there,” said Kwarare.
The police chief, said the deceased man was last seen in Mankgodi, Ramotlhabeng Ward on Friday where he had visited his girlfriend.
In a shocking turn of events, the girlfriend- a 32-year-old woman, was reported missing by her mother on Monday (28/03/22) where a search party comprising police officers and members of the public was dispatched to look for the woman though it did not bear any fruits.
“Later on the day we got a report that some shoes and jersey where found in the bushes. Upon our arrival we found a woman’s body in the thicket and the deceased’s father identified her. Looking at the bruises and wounds on her body it seems like there was a scuffle or fight before. Though we are yet to conclude our investigations, we suspect that these incidents are linked together since the two were seen together on Friday. In addition, we found a sharp object with blood traces in the pocket of the deceased man. We have since taken both bodies and the object to the lab for postmortem and tests respectively,” said Kwarare.
Kwarare further said the incident was the first of its kind in his policing area this year and urged people to always seek help when facing challenges. “People should always seek counseling either from bogosi, social workers or even the police because nowadays we have our unit which specializes in counseling and issues of gender based violence,” he said.