The family of the four-year-old boy stabbed by his father who also hanged himself is reeling in shock as the video of the incident still circulates on social media.
Xolani Nhlebeya, from Mpumalanga, made a short video explaining why he had killed his son, who could be seen in the recording hanging from the roof behind him. He said he had killed the boy because his mother was cheating on him.
Nhlebeya allegedly shared the video on social media before he hanged himself minutes later. The video also reached his son's mother Nondumiso, who had gone to Emalahleni to look for work.
The incident happened in Schoemansdal on Saturday evening.
In the video Nhlebeya said he and his son drank poison in the morning, which failed to work.
He also said he has had it hard since losing his job during the Covid-19 hard lockdown. He said his wife didn't care about him any more.
Zama Magagula, Nhlebeya's mother-in-law, told Sowetan the family was shocked and feared that Nondumiso might take her own life.
“My son-in-law came to ask for his son on Friday last week and, as usual, I let him. On Saturday during the day I called to ask if they were OK and he [Nhlebeya] assured me that everything was fine.
“At night on that day he called me and started swearing at me saying I made Nondumiso go to Emalahleni to look for a man. I kept quiet. I then received another call from my daughter that Nhlebeya said he was killing the child,” said Magagula.
Magagula said she rushed to Nhlebeya's house only to find a lot of people who had seen the video online and on WhatsApp trying to get into his house.
“Why did he have to kill his son who knows nothing about the allegations he was making about his mother?” she asked.
Magagula said a joint funeral was held on Thursday for the child and his father, adding that her daughter was no coping.
“...Though social workers have counselled her, she seems not ready to face the world,” said Magagula.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said they have opened a murder docket and an inquest.
“According to the information we have, the deceased sent a message to his wife who was in Witbank, that he wanted to kill their child. Then the wife alerted her father-in-law.
“He and his neighbour rushed to the deceased's house and knocked on the door but there was no response. They forced open the kitchen door and searched the house but were astonished by the gruesome discovery of a body of the child with stab wounds and his father hanging from the roof of the garage,” Mohlala said.
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