Revenge killing: Man up for the murder of his ex’s boyfriend

POLOKWANE – A 45-year-old man appeared before the Polokwane magistrate’s court yesterday (Wednesday) after he was arrested on Monday for the killing of a 33-year-old man, allegedly his former girlfriend’s new boyfriend, on a farm outside the city.

Westenburg police spokesperson, Capt Mohlaka Mashiane, said the suspect and the deceased were both farm workers, but worked on different farms.

The deceased, Stephen Mphelo, was found dead in an unused drain. His throat had been slit.

Mphelo was a father of two and came from Botlokwa. His sister, Lucy Mphelo, said the police explained to her that the suspect allegedly hit her brother with a rock and then with a stick before dragging him to the drain where his throat and wrists were slit.

“My brother was still alive when the man dragged him to the hole and killed him.

“My brother was a fun- and loving person, who was full of jokes, always singing and dancing. We are going to miss him so much,” Lucy said.

Mashiane confirmed that a case of murder was being investigated.

“The two men were involved in a fight, allegedly over a woman, when one of the men produced a knife and slit the other’s throat. The body was dumped in a shallow grave.

“A shepherd found the body and called the farm owner who then alerted the police,” Mashiane said.

Shortly after the body was found, the police arrested the suspect.

Mphelo’s sister added that the man who killed her brother was the former boyfriend of her brother’s girlfriend.

“They were no longer together, but he didn’t want to accept it. He caused trouble on the farm where he was working and was chased away,” she alleged.

Mphelo and his sister’s employer, strawberry and salad farmer, Japie Wentzel, said Mphelo worked on his farm for about a year and nine months as a general worker. “On the day of his death he left the farm in the early hours of the morning. By 09:00 his sister came to me and said he had not returned. We called the police and his body was later found in a hole that was covered with a concrete slab on a smallholding near my farm,” Wentzel said.

Wentzel said the killer must have had help, because the concrete block that covered the hole where Stephen’s body was found, was very heavy.

“The police removed the concrete block using a chain that was tied to a vehicle,” he said.

Mphelo leaves his parents, four brothers, two sisters and his two children behind. His funeral will be in Botlokwa on Sunday.