A man lying on a railway line was cut in two by a train in Mbumba near Bushbuckridge on Tuesday, October 21.

It is alleged that Edward Million Mathebula of Songeni Village recently brutally beat his wife, leading to her family taking her to hospital and reporting the matter to the police.

Mathebula, whose age could not immediately be established, is said to have fled after hearing that he would soon be arrested for the assault.

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A relative of Mathebula told Lowvelder that family members attempted to track him down, but were unable to locate him.

He said the family was later called to the Mbumba railway line where Mathebula’s remains had been found. The Mhala police were called to the scene.

“He ran away shortly after he was informed that the police would be coming to arrest him. He became very frightened since he had never been arrested before,” said the family member who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“I think he heard that there was a possibility of him becoming a boy wife behind bars, so he tried his best to evade the looming arrest by [taking his own life].”

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Mpho Nonyane-Mpe said: “Our members received a phone call from Lima control 10111 at 06:25, and were informed that a train had killed an African man at Mbumba railway line outside Thulamahashe. Upon our members’ arrival at the scene they found the upper body of the man lying next to the railway line with head injuries and his lower body was found under the train. The man was officially declared deceased by the paramedics at the scene.”

Nonyane-Mpe was unable to immediately confirm if Mathebula had faced an assault charge regarding the alleged beating of his wife.