Crime

MVEMBILI – The man who allegedly shot his girlfriend point-blank twice was arrested on his way to Manzini, attempting to evading arrest.

His arrest was after seeking refuge at his homestead to tend to wounds sustained while running away from the scene where he ended the life of his 32-year-old girlfriend.

It is claimed that the woman died at the hands of her 67-year-old boyfriend after communicating that she was no longer interested in their relationship.

The incident occurred on Monday, around 5pm at the deceased’s parental homestead at Mvembili, under the Ntfonjeni Inkhundla in the northern Hhohho Region.

Notably, this case of gender-based violence (GBV) between partners is not an isolated one; recently, a man at Motshane killed his girlfriend by stabbing her several times at their home before fleeing. He was later found dead in a forest following an alleged suicide.

Meanwhile, in this latest incident, according to the deceased’s grandmother, Duduzile Dlamini, the deceased (Thobile Dlamini), had just returned from a local shop shortly after some of her children arrived home from high school.

She claimed that the alleged killer followed Thobile into her house. Duduzile claimed that the suspect is a relative of the Dlamini family.

“I didn’t suspect anything because they were in a relationship and he frequently visited her here,” she said.

Duduzile recounted hearing a gunshot, followed shortly by a second one. Shocked, she rushed towards Thobile’s house to investigate. She mentioned that they suspect that before he shot her, they first engaged in an argument.

 “I was horrified by what we found there,” she said. They discovered that Thobile had been shot twice in the head, allegedly by her boyfriend, who fled the scene immediately after.

At the time of the incident, the deceased’s father was inside his house watching television, while her mother was in the fields gathering marula fruits.

One of Thobile’s children, a Form I pupil, was outside washing his school uniform.

The deceased’s mother, Thembi Dlamini, explained that upon their arrival, they found Thobile lying on the floor. The family suspects she was sitting on her bed when she was shot and subsequently fell.

“We believe she was preparing to bathe, as we found a basin of water and her toiletries nearby,” she said.

 Thembi added that her daughter was shot behind her right ear and at the back of her head. The family believes the suspect fired a second shot to ensure she had died.

Thembi further stated that when she initially heard the shots, she thought children were playing with fireworks. When asked about the motive behind the shooting, Thembi said the suspect refused to accept that Thobile no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.

The suspect was arrested by the police yesterday. He was apprehended while attempting to flee to Manzini after returning to his own homestead to tend to wounds sustained while running away. A friend of the suspect, who was accompanying him, tipped off the police.

*Full article available on Pressreader*

The one-room house where the deceased was in when she was allegedly shot by her boyfriend.

Some of the family members with some mourners at the Dlamini family. (R) Some of the family members with some mourners at the Dlamini family.

The deceased, Thobile Temalangeni Dlamini. (Pic: Mnelisi Dlamini)