A 30-year-old Musina woman was fatally assaulted with a sjambok by her alleged lover, following an undisclosed domestic dispute, police have said.

The Musina SAPS spokeswoman, Const Deborah Bob, said the incident occurred on Monday, at Shadrack Game Reserve, about 20km outside Musina town.

"The deceased and the suspect had a domestic dispute. In fact, the quarrel started the previous night (Sunday) at around 23:00 and eventually degenerated into a fight, resulting in the suspect’s assaulting his wife with a sjambok," Bob said.

The victim sustained severe head and body injuries and died on the spot.

The deceased woman was identified as Catherine Muleya and her body was subsequently taken to the Musina Government mortuary, pending a post-mortem.

Bob said the suspect was jointly arrested by the Musina police station commissioner, Supt Maggie Mathebula, and Det/Insp Libusha on Tuesday at around 13:00 near Paradise Nzhelele. "The suspect was arrested, following a tip-off from members of the public and he has since appeared in court on a murder charge," said the police spokeswoman.

The case was postponed to March 11 and no bail was granted to the accused.

"The police continue to urge people to desist from any form of violence in the event of disputes to avoid the loss of life. In fact, we are saying they should try to resolve their quarrels in an amicable manner or seek counseling rather than resort to killing each other," Bob said.