The bodies of a 41-year-old man from Tshituni village and his two young sons were found in the bushes at Mapakophele village, in Nzhelele, on Tuesday morning. The man was hanging by his neck from a tree, while the two boys, aged 4 and 7, were lying nearby, with open wounds on their bodies. The father had allegedly hacked his children to death with a panga before he hanged himself.
The spokesperson for the Vhembe police, W/O Vuledzani Dathi, said the police had been called to the scene at about 06:30 after the bodies had been discovered by community members. On arrival, the police confiscated a panga at the scene, which is believed to have been used to kill the children.
In an effort to dispel rumours that started circulating on social media that someone might have killed the father and his sons, Dathi said the police had opened two counts of murder and an inquest docket. "We are still waiting for a postmortem, which will tell us whether it was murder or suicide. The motive behind the incident is still subject to ongoing police investigations, but domestic violence cannot be ruled out," he said.
The deceased were identified as Thilivhali Mbulaheni (father), Asakundwi Mbulaheni (7), and Uhone Mbulaheni (4).
According to a trusted source, the mother of the children lives in Mapakophele village, which is not far from Tshituni village, where Mbulaheni lived with one of the boys. "They separated because Mbulaheni used to beat her. He came and took the other son during the Heritage long weekend. I assumed he wanted to spend the long weekend with his children. But then, Mbulaheni sent a message to the mother, saying he was going to kill himself and his sons," the source said.
Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe has urged communities to desist from resorting to extreme violence when facing domestic or relationship challenges. "As the province is presently fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, incidents of this nature where parents resort to harming their own children and ending innocent lives are of serious concern to the police. Communities must work jointly with us to end these senseless killings," she said.