A Madombidzha resident was killed in an alleged love triangle in the Tshikhwani section of Madombidzha village on Sunday evening (12 August).

Frans Mudimeli (40) was allegedly hit on the head by a fellow villager, Mashudu Khashane (36). They were apparently fighting over a woman, known as Joyce.

According to the police, the facts surrounding the incident are still extremely sketchy. It is alleged that the deceased and his supposed spouse (Joyce) were drinking together in one of the local taverns. It is said that the woman then left the deceased and went to  the Khashane home, situated only a short distance away from the tavern.

According to the deceased's family, Mudimeli had gone out to fetch the keys to his home, which he shared with his mother, Vho-Masindi Munzhedzi (73), and Joyce. As to how it came about that the deceased and Khashane eventually fought in the latter's yard, is unknown at this stage.

The police were alerted after Mudimeli had passed away and they found the deceased covered in a blanket, with visible injuries to his head. He was allegedly hit to death with a stick.

“Joyce and my son had been together for some years and she will always live in my house as an in-law,” sobbed the elderly Vho-Masindi when Limpopo Mirror visited the family this week. She maintained that her son only went to the accused’s house to collect the keys to the house, since Joyce had walked away with them to the other man.

Meanwhile, community members who witnessed the killing and spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that Khashane and the deceased's fight started as a result of paternity issues. The woman is allegedly pregnant.

The spokesperson for the Tshilwavhusiku police, Const Musiwalo Mahuwa, said that Mr Mashudu Khashane had appeared in the magistrate’s court on Wednesday and had been charged with murder.