Residents of the Mpheni area received shocking news on Sunday night that three members of the community were stabbed in a suspected incident of domestic violence. A little boy was also stabbed to death.
Although the information regarding the incident is still sketchy, the police said that the suspect, Kenneth Netshiungani (25) was on parole when the stabbings took place. He received a 15-year prison sentence for murder in 2010 and was released on parole in April this year.
The police report added that Netshiungani apparently suspected that his girlfriend, Ms Miyelani Ngholele (25), was still in a relationship with the father of one of her children. He arrived at the woman's house and allegedly confronted her.
It is suspected that Netshiungani soon afterwards pulled out a knife and stabbed two of the children, a 5-year old girl and her 3-year old brother. When the mother tried to intervene, he allegedly stabbed in her in the stomach. The children and their mother were taken to the Elim Hospital where the young boy, Andani Ngolele was certified dead on arrival.
A knife was discovered at the scene of the incident.
The suspect fled after the incident and was later arrested at Dopeni in the Nzhelele area.
The family spokesperson and sister of the suspect, Ms Rendani Netshiungani said that the family members are still shocked and very disturbed about the incident. "Our little boy was still young, with his whole life in front of him," she said. She added that the family and community are traumatised. According to her, the death of the little one had left them with deep wounds that would take some time to heal.
She added that the family would love to see the law take its course. "We want to see a severe punishment. The accused must pay for what he has done. He must rot in jail where he belongs."
The chairperson of the Munna Ndi Nny men's organisation, Mr Bardwell Mufunwaini, said that "the horrible incident is very painful. People should break the silence and share their problems with either close family members or community leaders. We also advise those with family problems to contact us, as we have highly trained nurses, psychologists and social workers. It is important to seek professional assistance, rather than resorting to violent actions like ending the lives of poor, innocent children," said Mufunwaini.
The suspect, Kenneth Netshiungani (25) appeared in Waterval Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. The case was postponed to 30 January 2018. He remains in custody.