ANC MP stands accused of murdering his wife in the presence of their 18-month-old child. Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Johannesburg - An ANC MEMBER of Parliament, who allegedly stabbed his wife to death last November, was only arrested on Friday morning, leaving their three little children in disarray.
The children, aged between eight years old and 18 months, will be placed in the care of relatives, while their father is facing a possible jail term and their mother is late.
The Sunday Independent can exclusively reveal that within hours after he reported that he found his 31-year-old wife, Jennifer Motlhomi, in a pool of blood and stabbed to death in their marital home in Kanana, North West on November 27 last year, friends and relatives told police that he was the suspect.
Before Motlhomi was found dead, she posted on her Facebook page on May 28 last year that “GBV is real, if I wake up killed or any of my family members pls don’t look far.”
One of her followers advised after she reported another incident of abuse that “sends a live location to one of your friends and tells them to call the police to come to fetch you without (him) noticing.”
The 34-year-old MP, who once accused an EFF leader of being a woman abuser in Parliament, was arrested in Klerksdorp on Friday morning and charged with the murder of his wife. The Sunday Independent was told by reliable sources with intimate knowledge that police initially wanted to arrest him within hours after his wife was found dead but “there was some political influence from some ANC heavyweights.”
“Although he initially told police that he was at the local tavern drinking with friends when his wife was murdered, someone told police that he was the suspect and that he went to the shebeen for an alibi and to drown his sorrows after allegedly killing his wife,” a neighbour, who asked not to be named, said.
“He used to abuse his wife without fear or shame. She has opened several cases of domestic violence against him but each time he was treated with velvet gloves because he is an ANC member of Parliament,” the neighbour added.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, told the Sunday Independent that police didn’t arrest him immediately as they were still investigating the case.
“Police first investigate in order to effect an arrest. We don’t arrest to investigate. It was important that we conduct a thorough investigation before effecting the arrest,” Mathe said.
Mathe confirmed that he was arrested without naming him and that he would face a charge of murder. He is expected to appear at Orkney Magistrate's Court for the first time on Monday.
At the time of Motlhomi’s death, the ANC Youth League in the province, in a press statement, said “the painful circumstances of her death, paints a disturbing picture of violence which is deeply embedded in our communities, especially against women and children.”
The organisation added that “whoever killed her must rot in jail.” The MP also put on a show when he pleaded with anyone with information on his wife’s murder to come forward and assist the police investigation.
Motlhomi was killed in the presence of her 18-month-old daughter who wasn’t harmed. Mathe confirmed that Motlhomi first reported her husband for domestic violence on January 26, 2016, before they even got married.
It isn’t clear how the two got married after the court granted Motlhomi an interdict against him on March 18, 2016, for domestic violence. ANC Youth League provincial secretary, Kutlwano Masibi, said they were “saddened by the revelation that its former leader has been arrested and charged for the gruesome murder of his wife.”
Th MP is the former regional secretary of the ANC Youth League in the province. Masibi said they would be in court tomorrow to support “the victim and their children.”
“We are very much concerned about the well-being of the three little children and the effect everything would have in their lives,” he said.
Masibi appealed to women out there not to stay in toxic relationships.
“People must learn to walk out of toxic relationships while they are still alive, they mustn’t be overwhelmed by the love and material gains,” he said.
He added that the MP doesn’t deserve the sympathy of the ANC members.
“Many women lose their lives to those who claim to love them. We wish to send a stern warning to all perpetrators of these acts in our ranks that we will not protect an abuser or murderer,” he said.
