A woman who survived a brutal attack by her husband, former local musangwe (bare-knuckle) champion Mzamani Foster Chauke, has broken her silence about the near-fatal ordeal that left her fighting for her life. Chauke, allegedly fearing he had killed his wife during the attack, later hanged himself.
Gundo Lenah Netshivhungululu (35), of Tshaulu Buluni outside Thohoyandou, was beaten unconscious with a brick during the altercation on 14 February. She only learned of her husband’s suicide after returning from hospital.
In the aftermath, rumours circulated blaming her for Chauke’s death. Still bedridden and recovering from serious head and upper-body injuries, she initially remained silent. Last Friday, 20 February, she spoke to the Limpopo Mirror about the attack and its aftermath.
“It was on Saturday, 14 February, when I left home with my husband accompanying me to a family meeting at Duvhuledza, but his car could not reach there due to bad roads. We arranged that he would pick me up where he had dropped me in the morning when I was done with the meeting. After trying several times to get hold of him, my daughter and I had to hitchhike and eventually got a lift from my cousin,” she said.
Netshivhungululu said that after travelling a short distance, her husband came speeding towards them and blocked their path.
“He exchanged words with my cousin, [after which] my child and I alighted and boarded his car. On arrival home, he became more violent, accusing me of cheating with my cousin. Sensing danger, I ran to a nearby house and locked myself inside, but he broke the windows and managed to enter the house, where he attacked me with a brick. I collapsed and only woke up in hospital,” she said. She added that she only learned of her husband’s suicide after returning from hospital.
Even before she could recover and while still in great pain, people had already begun speaking badly about her and blaming her for her husband’s death.
“That was the most painful moment of my life. Remember, I am the victim who was beaten up and left for dead. People who I thought would support me were against me. One thing that hurt me deeply was that even women, who were supposed to sympathise with me, were also mocking me,” said Netshivhungululu.
She said she tried to be brave and attend her husband's funeral. “But the talk there made me feel uncomfortable. I had to leave hurriedly after the funeral,” she said.
Netshivhungululu said she is being wrongly accused of something she had no part in.
“I love my husband so much and I wonder what got into his head that day. I tried to explain to him that I was not cheating, but he would not listen. I am making an appeal to everyone to stop speaking badly about me and falsely accusing me,” she said.
She concluded by saying that her only wish is that her husband had not made the decision he did on that fateful day.