The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has strongly condemned a horrific incident in which a 20-year-old woman was murdered and her body discovered earlier on Thursday, 10 February 2022 at about 06:40 next to a school at Calcutta in Bushbuckridge.
A 25-year-old man, who is believed be the father of her child has since been arrested by the Calcutta police in connection with the murder.
According to the report, police were conducting their normal duties when a group of learners notified them of something sinister next to the nearby bushes. The members then went to the place next to Chayaza Secondary School where they made the gruesome discovery of a lifeless body of a woman upon their arrival.
The clothes that the woman was wearing were covered in blood. The medical personnel also arrived at the scene where she was unfortunately certified dead.
A murder case was then opened accordingly. Police went further with their investigation where a manhunt was launched for the suspect(s). The probe led members to the father of her two-year-old daughter.
The man was then arrested and during the arrest, police found an item believed to be that of the victim. Police also found some clothes with blood stains at the place where they arrested the suspect. The investigators also seized an item which they are convinced might be the weapon that was used in the murder.
All confiscated items will form part of the investigation.
The suspect is expected to appear at the Mkhuhlu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 14 February 2022 on a charge of murder.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela has further welcomed the arrest of the suspect whilst raising her concerns regarding the rate in which women are reportedly murdered or abused by their partners in the province even during a month in which people were supposed to show affection to one another. “It is very sad when mothers are brutally murdered, leaving behind their little ones. This is enough and it must immediately come to an end. We hope that justice will be served in this case,” concluded the General.
