EDITOR – I’ve been following with macabre interest the unfolding madness that followed the murder of an Amanzimtoti woman who died when a hand grenade was thrown at her.
It is a travesty that this is happening in our midst, and it says something very worrying about the state of mind of South Africans if these are the lengths we go to, to resolve conflicts in the home.
Her husband, having been on the run for three days, eventually handed himself over to police, thankfully.
However, one must question the man’s state of mind when he appeared in court for the first time, wearing one shoe and appearing dishevelled. One must also question whether this is part of a bigger ploy to eke out sympathy.
This line of thought was affirmed when, at his bail appearance, his attorney put forward a defence that casts major aspersions on his dead wife’s character. I, for one, think it’s astounding how low some people will go.
Perhaps it’s the best ‘defence’ to finger the victim who isn’t around to defend herself any longer. I find it reprehensible to say the least.
Whatever her ‘crime’ may or may not have been, there’s simply no going back from
- a) having not one but two grenades in one’s possession, but also
- b) pulling the ring to wilfully bring about the death of someone you once purported to have loved.
There’s a lot to be said for owning up to the consequences of one’s actions. Fortunately, in our country where many standards are failing, our courts still hold firm.
The biggest victims in this gruesome affair are the children who have lost not only a mother, but also their father.
I noted with glee that despite the state not opposing the man’s bail, which in itself is deplorable to say the least, common sense and good logic prevailed within the magistrate in deciding to keep him away from society at large. Who knows what other catalyst might make him snap, and cause a similar tyranny of terror to play out?
I hope his trial fleshes out several glaring problems in our society. The most obvious and worrying being that military weapons somehow found their way into a suburban home without being missed.
His background in military affairs speaks of some kind of awareness of the destructive capability of these devices, making his actions seem even more evil.
The military should be put on trial to establish exactly how this seemingly unstable man came to be in possession of warfare weaponry. Who’s to say there aren’t similar caches of weapons in the possession of other, equally unhinged people who happen to once have donned a uniform?
This woman’s death is indeed a travesty and a highlight of the failure of our society to place a great enough emphasis on the sanctity of life.
But that is sadly fast becoming the South African way, it appears.
