A pensioner from Tshithuthuni village in Nzhelele's dream of enjoying a well-deserved rest in his old age was shattered when his son's begrudged girlfriend allegedly set his house on fire in a moment of rage.
Hendrick Nenzhelele had worked in Gauteng for most of his life. He had retired many years ago, but he never had the opportunity to return to his home village in Nzhelele until this year.
Hendrick finally made up his mind that the time had come to leave the city life behind and go back to his roots for good. About two weeks ago, he couriered new furniture and other valuables to his house in Tshithuthuni to show that he was serious about returning this time. Sadly, Hendrick's plans came to an abrupt halt when his son, Bennet, who lived at the house, decided to break up with his girlfriend.
Apparently, Bennet had been in a relationship with an abusive woman for a long time. The woman also sometimes stayed with him at his father's house. When Bennet eventually broke up with her, she could not take the rejection, so she burnt Hendrick's six-room house to the ground. All the furniture, including the new things Hendrick had recently sent home, and all the other contents of the house were burnt to ashes.
The incident happened last Friday evening (26 August), at around 21:00.
Bennet's cousin, Livhuwani Maemu, said he had confided in her that this woman was giving him a terrible time, beating him and forcing him to do whatever she wanted in front of other people. "He was crying and showed it was serious. I tried to intervene, but the woman told me where to get off. On Friday, she met him on his way home from work and told him she was going to burn the house down if he continued to ignore her. Later that night, she sent him an SMS informing him that she had burnt the house down, and 'Happy New Year, continue your life with your new wife in that burnt house'," Maemu said.
Apparently, the woman later handed herself in at the local Siloam Police Station.
"We are still trying to figure out why she chose to burn the house down. We do not know how to relay this to my uncle. We have sent people to properly inform the old man about the incident, but we don't know how he will take it," she said, deeply concerned.
Bennet was in such a state of shock that he could not even speak.
Police spokesperson Colonel Mamphaswa Seabe confirmed that a case of arson had been opened.