A woman’s body was discovered on Saturday, a day after she withdrew a domestic violence charge against her husband. The provincial police in Limpopo have labelled the murder of Lendelani Nengovela (33) as femicide.

Police say a man was arrested after his wife opened a domestic violence case against him earlier. He was released on bail and was supposed to appear in court this week. However, his wife withdrew the charges against him on Friday.

A SAPS statement says the man called police on Saturday to say that he discovered his wife’s body in a ditch at their home in Mangodi Ha Sundou, Venda after struggling to locate her for some time. The man (38) was arrested in connection with the murder of Nengovela shortly after her body was discovered.

He is expected to appear in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court today.

“This is yet another incident of gender-based violence and femicide perpetrated against a vulnerable member of society. The woman obviously trusted her husband that he would not physically harm her, but she is now no more,” says Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe.