The man accused of hacking his three children to death in a fit of rage in Limpopo over the weekend, is scheduled to appear in the Dzanani Magistrate Court today.

Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Jim Ledwaba expressed his shock and disbelief at the brutal manner in which the three children were killed. He condemned the frequent incidents of domestic violence and related killings in the area in the strongest terms.

Ledwaba’s condemnation follows the gruesome incident that occurred at Manyi Village in the Mphephu policing area during the early hours of Saturday morning, when a 43-year-old man allegedly hacked his three children to death while they were asleep in their house at around 02:00.

It is alleged that the suspect accused his wife of infidelity and seemingly believed that he is not the biological father of the three children. “He then started chasing his wife with a sharp object, but she managed to escape and ran outside to look for help. Unfortunately, the suspect went to where the kids were sleeping and killed them,” said Ledwaba. The three children, all boys, were identified as two-year-old Olugaho Madou, six-year-old Thabo Madou and seven-year-old Tshilidzi Madou.

Ledwaba said that the motive behind this incident is still subject to an ongoing police investigation, but that domestic violence cannot be ruled out. “Members of the community who are having social related problems, must consult their local relevant authorities for intervention rather than taking the lives of another, especially the vulnerable groups,” said Ledwaba.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, the body of a 35-year-old man was found hanging inside his house by family members at Mandala Village in the Siloam policing area outside Thohoyandou on Sunday.

The police were immediately summoned and reacted swiftly. Initial investigations found that the man had blood stains on his clothes, and that his he wife and car were missing. Shortly afterwards, the police discovered the wife’s body inside the man’s car, parked in some bushes near Thathe Village. She had multiple stab wounds. The knife believed to be the murder weapon was found next to the body.

“The motive behind this killing is not clear at this stage, but domestic violence may not be ruled out,” said Ledwaba.