Man strangles wife, hangs self over infidelity claims

A JEALOUS man who strangled his wife before hanging himself with a wire left investigators a suicide note blaming the double homicide on her infidelity, police said.

Alfred Mapheka (34) of the Chapfuche area under Chief Sitaudze in Beitbridge feared his wife, Patricia Chabwani, (25), was seeing another man he identified only as "Moyo who lives in Mwenezi".

Police believe Mapheka strangled his wife following a row over her alleged infidelity shortly after 11pm on 15 November.

"Mapheka then hanged himself using a piece of wire. He was found hanging from a tree about 100m away from their homestead," said

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Christopher Ngwenya. He said investigations had revealed that the two had a "history of domestic disputes over allegations of Chabwani's infidelity."

Asst Insp Ngwenya said investigators had found on Mapheka's body Patricia's mobile phone and a suicide note. The suicide note, addressed to the police, said: "Mapurisa torai vana vangu muvaise kuHurumende kwete kuhama dzangu. Akonzeresa nyaya iyi ndiMoyo anogara kuMwenezi. Musungei achataura chokwadi (Mapholisa thathani abantwabami libase kuhulumende, lingabanikezi izihlobo zami. uMoyo ohlala eMwenezi nguye osungule loludaba. Kabotshwe, uzaveza iqiniso) (Police officers take my children to the Government not to my relatives. Moyo, who resides in Mwenezi, is the one who caused this incident. Arrest him and he will tell you the truth)."

The two bodies were taken to Beitbridge District Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.