Police has arrested a 34-year-old Zimbawean national believed to have hacked his wife and five children to death in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Recall that a 42-year-old mother and her five children aged between six months and ten years old were brutally murdered at home in Dabekweni Locality, Kwaaiman, the Eastern Cape, on the eve of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign.
The suspect was tracked down to Ginsberg, King William’s Town on Thursday night, November 26.
Police spokesperson, Brig Tembinkosi Kinana.who confirmed the arrest, said that the suspect was apparently going to flee South Africa back to his home country.
“The investigators received information which led them to a flat allegedly belonging to a relative in Ginsberg, where they found and arrested the 34-year-old male suspect who was in hiding,” said Kinana.
“It is alleged that the suspect, who cannot be identified until his court appearance, had escaped from Dabekweni locality in Kwaaiman after the incident to find refuge in King William’s Town. Details on how he found his way to Ginsberg are still under investigation. The suspect is yet to be interviewed by the detectives to establish the truth behind the tragic axe murders … At the time of the arrest the suspect is believed to have been preparing to flee SA back to his home country.” he said.
Once he is charged, the suspect is expected to appear at the Mqanduli magistrate’s court on Monday to face six counts of murder.
It was reported earlier that the woman’s 16-year-old firstborn son was the first person to discover the bodies at their home, near Elliotdale and Coffee Bay. On the floor, at the scene of the killings, were photographs of those who died – with their faces scratched out.
Meanwhile, Police Minister General Bheki Cele has lauded the swift detective work that led to the arrest of the alleged killer.
“While it is the responsibility of the police to ensure that those who carry out such gruesome acts are arrested and dealt with by the laws of this country, however such arrests only come after the fact and in many instances, it is after lives are destroyed and lost. So I am making a call to men, I urge you all to stop brutalising and violating women and children…it’s that simple.” Cele concluded.
