The family of 29-year-old Mbali Makokone from Inanda, Amaoti area said they want justice after her boyfriend and father of her two children, aged two and six, allegedly hit her with a brick and strangled her to death.
The family said after the man allegedly killed their daughter, he made himself food while his clothes were stained with her blood, sat next to her body and enjoyed his meal.
This happened after Makokone celebrated her birthday.
A relative who did not want to be named said June 29 was Makokone’s birthday and on the morning of June 30 the boyfriend allegedly killed her.
The relative said they suspect that he had planned to kill her.
The relative described the boyfriend as violent as he had beaten Makokone before and she ended up in hospital.
“We did warn her to leave that relationship but she did not,” said the relative.
Talking about the week leading up to the murder, the relative said Makokone had returned home because her boyfriend had chased her out of their rental home after a fight. She said the boyfriend then asked her to return and celebrate her birthday in their home. However, on June 29 the boyfriend was working and told Makokone to invite a few friends over and they celebrated her birthday. When the boyfriend came back from work a friend was still in the house as she slept over.
“When he came back from work around 2am as he finished work at midnight he was moody but no one knew why. They walked with the friend who slept over to get transport in the morning,” the relative said.
When the police found him he was eating and he asked them to give him a chance to change into warm clothes as it was cold in prison, continued the relative.
Referring to the children, the relative said the six-year-old told the family they were given R10 to go to the shops and then to their mother’s homestead.
“When they arrived they told us that when they left their parents, their dad was beating up their mom,” the relative said.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said a 28-year-old man was arrested by police after the body of a woman was found. She said the victim had sustained multiple assault wounds on her body.
“The suspect was expected to appear on Tuesday at Ntuzuma Magistrate court,” said Ngcobo.
She said the motive was unknown.
Sunday Tribune