Man accused of setting girlfriend alight makes first court appearance

The 35-year-old man, who is accused of trying to murder his girlfriend by dousing her in paraffin and then setting her alight, is expected to apply for bail.

Kholofelo Nonyane made his first appearance in the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following his arrest on Sunday.

The matter was postponed to 20 July for a formal bail application.

News24 previously reported that Nonyane allegedly had a heated argument with his 19-year-old girlfriend on 21 December 2019 in Witbank, Mpumalanga.

“He then poured paraffin on her whilst she was asleep. When she woke up to the smell of paraffin, the suspect set her alight and locked her in their rented room,” police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said.

“The victim screamed out of anguish, begging for the suspect to open the door, of which he did, but ran away immediately after”.

Hlathi added that, when other tenants heard the victim screaming and saw that she was badly burned, they immediately contacted police and medical personnel for assistance.

“When these formations arrived, the medical personnel took the victim to hospital, whilst police opened a case of attempted murder”.

It is further alleged that Nonyane fled Witbank after the incident and went into hiding in Shatale, near Bushbuckridge, where he was arrested.

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