Man attacks wife to death with axe over child support grant

Nhlonipho Ntombi Maseko had just gotten off the bus, returning home from work at about 6pm on Monday when she was murdered, allegedly by her children's father who had been stalking her for a while.

Her friends and family said Maseko, 31, was brutally attacked with an axe while some community members watched in Schoemansdal in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, without coming to her rescue.

Smanga Custen Kamanga, 41, was later arrested for the murder and is expected to apply for bail on May 20. 

Maseko's cousin Nontobeko Nkosi said she had been in an abusive relationship before leaving Kamanga. "They lived together but Smanga started beating Ntombi before she moved out with her children. While she was staying at a place she was given by her employer, Smanga would come and continue to abuse her. She then obtained a protection order against him," said Nkosi.

"When she asked why he was abusive, he said he wanted his children and Ntombi gave them to him. But he did not stop stalking and abusing her. She then alerted the police but they did not assist despite her having a protection order against him.

"It's sad that she was eventually killed like a dog and left on the streets by the same man police failed to arrest. What's more painful is that Smanga waited for her at the station and started attacking her as soon as she got off the bus, while people watched."

Nkosi said Maseko and Kamanga had an argument at the weekend over child support grant. "They argued after Smanga told Ntombi that she must give him the children's Sassa card so that he could start collecting the money himself. Ntombi insisted she needed to buy winter clothes for the children first," said Nkosi.

Nkosinathi Mahlalela, who boarded the bus with Maseko, said they became friends and she would tell him that she was being abused at home.

"We were a group of four friends. She confided to us that she was being abused at home, and then she decided to move to a rental place. The abuse was so bad that the guy [Smanga] would sometimes board our bus just to monitor her. He would roam around the mall the whole day to see who she's talking to," said Mahlalela.

"We advised her to have a protection order, but when he broke it and she reported this to police, she was not taken serious. The police have failed her."

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lt-Col Jabu Ndubane said they will look into why she was killed despite having a protection order.

"It's a pity she's not here to tell us about the court order as they [family and friends] say but we shall look into that. We advise our community that if there's a standing court order they can also approach the police or court and report [violation of a protection order] so that a warrant of arrest [can be issued].

"Some people omit details regarding the abuse like stalking and only report physical abuse... but when they notice the person is stalking them, they must report that too because stalking is a crime," said Ndubane.

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