Wife killer drives body to police, hands himself in

A 30-year-old Free State man arrived at the Ficksburg police station with the lifeless body of his 23-year-old wife on Saturday before handing himself in.

The Lesotho national, who lives in Meqheleng, Ficksburg, parked in front of the police station and walked in in tears, said spokesperson Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring.

“When asked what happened, he told the police that he came to report the murder of his wife who was inside his car.

“Emergency medical service personnel were summoned and declared the woman dead.

“His name and that of the deceased are known to the police and will only be released once the next of kin positively identify the body.”

Police are investigating a case of murder.

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Argument leads to killing

Mophiring said the couple had a heated argument while seated in the car at Meulspruit Dam, outside Ficksburg.

“It’s alleged that the wife told the husband that she was sick and he got angry and assaulted her.

“In the process, she was stabbed with a sharp instrument on the neck and became unconscious inside the car.

“That’s when the husband drove from the dam to report the incident,” Mophiring said in a statement.

The incident is one of the many tragic cases happening during the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.

According to Petronella Ntlake, an expert on gender-based violence issues, South Africa still has a long way to go before this type of crime can be eradicated.

“Until we find a way to deal with that, we have a very long way to go before we can celebrate developments or even talk about the failure to capture the extent of under-reporting or control for population size,” she said.

Her comments came after the fourth annual Violence Survey launched by RCS.

The results of the 2023 survey revealed key insights into the impact of violence on South African communities and businesses.

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