KwaThema – Police are investigating a case of arson after a disgruntled lover torched his girlfriend’s home in Rest in Peace, KwaThema on Sunday evening.
It is alleged the suspect went looking for his girlfriend at her home but she was not there.
He went to the nearby tavern where he found her sitting with the father of her three children.
But when he demanded that she leave with him, the father of her children told him to leave them in peace, and this angered him.
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He left the tavern and allegedly returned to her home in to torch it.
A family member* says the suspect confessed to burning the house to hurt his girlfriend.
“He told us he left the two at the tavern and went to his home to fetch petrol to torch the house.
“He allegedly poured petrol inside the bedroom where the six children, aged between three and 15, were sleeping.
“We are happy that the six children managed to escape the fire unharmed but only suffered smoke inhalations and are receiving medical treatment,” he says.
Another family member* says the suspect has been abusive to her sister since they starting dating over four years ago.
“She has protection orders against him which she always eventually cancels; they were currently undergoing a case of assault in court.
“We were hoping that she would one day learn her lesson and leave him,” she says.
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KwaThema police station spokesperson Const Media Khoza says the suspect is police custody but has not being formally charged.
“Even though he has admitted to committing the crime to the family members, we do not have enough information to charge him at this point,” she says.
* Names withheld to protect the victim and her children.
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