OK FOODS WORKER STABBED ABOUT 10 TIMES BY BABY DADDY, DIES

MBABANE – An employee of OK Foods died tragically on Wednesday evening after being reportedly stabbed by the father of her child, while returning from work.

She was employed at the OK Foods located along the road to Checkers. According to sources, Gabsile Mayaba (35) was stabbed about 10 times all over the body by the father of her child at Sitibeni in Mbabane. The father of the child, who has since been arrested, is also a resident of the same area. Mayaba was found by a motorist lying in a pool of blood on the road. The woman, according to sources, was barely alive when she was found. She is said to have died while undergoing treatment at the Mbabane Government Hospital.  

Attack

The incident happened about two kilometres from her parental home. The brutal attack left her family in shock and demanding answers. Sources told this publication that she leaves behind her child, who is in Grade II. It is alleged that the father of the child had heard rumours that she was preparing to get married to another man.

Her uncle, Malangeni Dlamini, said he received information about Mayaba being found lying on the road with multiple stab wounds at around 8pm on Wednesday. Dlamini said his niece was assisted by a motorist, who tried to transport her to the hospital. He stated that while on the way to the hospital, the motorist realised that Mayaba was not responsive and drove to the Mbabane Police Station.

According to Dlamini, at the police station, Mayaba was transported to the hospital in a police van. A doctor is said to have declared her dead. “We received the information around 8:30pm and we rushed to the hospital and found that she was already at the morgue. 

“We requested to see her and this confirmed our fears. She had five visible stab wounds and we still do not know if there were more, as that will be confirmed next week Wednesday,” Dlamini said. He stated that they were working hand in hand with the police to try and establish the reasons behind her being stabbed. The uncle further alleged that Mayaba’s assailant took her purse but left her cellphone, which is now in the hands of the police.

The Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni, confirmed that a 35-year-old woman of Sitibeni was found lying on the road in a pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds all over her body. Mnguni said the woman died while undergoing treatment at the Mbabane Government Hospital. She further confirmed that a 33-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the murder.

This happens against the backdrop of a number of gender-based violence (GBV) cases, which have occurred in the country, prompting Members of Parliament (MPs) and civil society organisations,  to call  for GBV to be declared a national disaster. The recent case being that of a 16-year-old girl who was stabbed, banged against a wall and hit with pieces of bricks, allegedly by a 39-year-old man, who is currently a fugitive from the law.

The suspect allegedly committed this offence after being released on bail, following a charge of statutory rape linked to the deceased. The spine-chilling incident happened at Thulwane, under Mafutseni Constituency in the Manzini Region.

Apart from the statutory rape case, the suspect was out on bail on two murder charges, as he was arrested for purportedly killing teenage girls – one in Matsapha and the other at Thulwane. According to a source close to the matter, Mphilwenhle Mavimbela dropped out of school in Form III last year as the suspect would waylay her on her way from school and force her to his home, where he kept her for days without her consent.

Her Majesty the Queen Mother has also registered her concerns over the continued killings in the country. The Queen Mother, speaking when bidding farewell to church leaders on Monday, urged pastors to preach the truth, so that it could reach out to all people in the country.

Killing

The Queen Mother said she believed that once the truth reached the people, they would realise that killing each other could never be the solution. She advised men married to talkative women to avoid arguments in order to circumvent temptations that would cause them trouble. Government has also set aside E1 million to fight GBV this year.

This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Thuli Dladla. Senators also called for the DPM, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to speed up the process of establishing special sexual offences and domestic violence (SODV) courts. They noted that there was a backlog of cases in the normal courts and most of the backlog was SODV cases.

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