A 24-year-old woman has committed suicide after killing her two children by feeding them a poisonous substance at Lonhlupheko on Thursday.
The body of the mother of two and her children aged one and two years were discovered by the woman’s mother at around 7pm. The incident happened in a bedroom inside a house belonging to a female teacher who had agreed to accommodate the family. Residents of the area said the woman arrived in the area known as Ka-Martin last year, together with her two children.
“She used to stay with her mother in a rented flat. After some time an arrangement was made for them to mind the teacher’s house because the owner would be away at school most of the time,” said a resident. It was gathered that the deceased woman lived alone with her children in the big house located not far from her mother’s rented flat.
“We do not know what happened but when we gathered there yesterday we learnt that she committed suicide after killing both children,” said a woman from the area.
The deceased was described as a quiet young woman who had two beautiful children. A local community police Samson Mbhamali said the community was still shocked from the incident.
“I knew the young woman and I once interviewed her since that is part of our routine practices, especially on people who are new in the area,” he said.
Mbhamali said the deceased had opened up to him about her boyfriend who worked in neighbouring Mozambique. He said during their chat, which happened about a month ago, the deceased mentioned her fears that her boyfriend could be cheating on her.
“I was shocked when I was called to the scene on Thursday night after her mother found all three of them dead,” he said. Mbhamali said the woman’s mother had gone to check on her as she had bought some stuff for them while in Simunye where she works. “Their bodies remained at the scene for the whole night while we waited for the police to collect evidence. The police arrived yesterday and took their bodies to the mortuary,” said Mbhamali.
Acting Chief Police Information and Communications Officer confirmed the matter. He said the police are investigating the circumstances around the deaths. Communications Officer at the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Zanele Dlamini said in such suicide, there were usually underlying factors that lead to parents resolving to kill their children too. “The mentality there is that if they die along with their children then there won’t be anyone remaining to bother the people they are leaving behind,” she said. Dlamini said other cases were a result of heat of the moment, which could have been averted if the person reached out for help. She revealed that the DPM’s office also has the powers to take away children and keep them in a safe place in the meantime until the parent recovered from the situation they are faced with.
