The family of a twenty-eight-year-old woman who was murdered by having her heart ripped out of her by her boyfriend said they will be facing “the most difficult moment when they narrate to the deceased’s son what led to his parents’ deaths, especially his mother”.
Malebogo Segobaetso’s life was cut short by his boyfriend, Thabang Moilwa, also 28, from Boseja Ward in Mochudi who later committed suicide.
The deceased’s aunt, Kgomotso Segobaetso, said, “I was aware that Malebogo’s relationship with her boyfriend was not smooth.”
She said even though they were aware that the relationship was not smooth, both families had never met to discuss their problems in order to assist them to have a health relationship.
She said on the 26th of last December, she was told that Malebogo had gone to “dikopelo” as part of Bakgatla tradition.
“The following day in the morning, I was preparing to go to a funeral in the neighborhood but all of a sudden some people came home saying that somebody was hanging from a tree. I went to investigate and witnessed for myself,” she said
Kgomotso said, by luck, the Ward Councilor, who was attending a funeral was called and he phoned the police who did not take long to arrive at the scene.
Upon arrival of the police, she said, they discovered that the man hanging from the tree was Malebogo’s boyfriend and he had some blood stains on his clothes.
“I became suspicious and asked the police to go where the boyfriend was staying because Malebogo was nowhere to be found,” she said, adding that they could not believe what they saw because they never suspected that he was capable of doing something so cruel to his girlfriend.
The two are survived by their four-year-old boy.
A Botswana university lecturer, Dr Sithandazile Msimanga, at the Counselling Center, said “Though it is difficult to describe the behavior of the perpetrator, what he did was beyond normal.”
She said if it were possible, the family responsible for the deceased’s son should not be told how his parents died, especially the mother, in order to protect him because, she said, if told, it might affect his life.
However, Moilwa’s mother said, “My emotions are deeply damaged because of the incident, therefore, I am unable to grant you an interview.”
Meanwhile the public in Mochudi on Sunday demonstrated peacefully against criminal activities that has hit Kgatleng.
The organizer of the event, councilor Molefhe Molefhe, said he was pleased with the attendance.
He said he hoped that people will have a change of heart and realize that crime does not pay.
The demonstrations were also attended by the tribal authorities, government and council officials together with the police, who appealed to the people to assist the police to fight crime.
