Police Sergeant Jonnas Tebogo Mpete will appear in the Brits Magistrate’s Court in the North West again today on a charge of premeditated murder for allegedly killing his ex-wife, Ntombizodwa Khumalo, on April 2.

Khumalo (35), who was pregnant, obtained a protection order against Mpete (39) in 2021. She was gunned down at the Brits Hospital, where she worked as a switchboard operator.

Perpetrators of femicide

At least 130 members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have killed their partner or a family member in the past five years, according to figures given to Caxton Local Media by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

According to IPID’s Robbie Raburabu, the police are required by law to report all these incidents to them. He acknowledged there could be other cases, but the possibility is very slim as this would be a contravention of the IPID Act.

Breakdown of statistics:

• 2021/2022: 26
• 2020/2021: 21
• 2019/2020: 30
• 2018/2019: 31
• 2017/2018: 22

Raburabu also provided Caxton with the following IPID figures on police members who committed suicide after an act of domestic violence:

• 2021/2022: 13
• 2020/2021: 15
• 2019/2020: 17
• 2018/2019: 14
• 2017/2018: 7

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo has been widely quoted as saying that acts of murder-suicide committed by members of the South African police is as the result of the ‘deep-rooted underlying challenges’ they face, as well as ‘persistent mental and emotional stress’ and that there is a need for urgent preventative measures.

Dr Giada Del Fabbro, a clinical and forensic psychologist, told Caxton Local Media there are generally two main reasons behind domestic murder-suicide among law enforcement members.

“There could be a negative dynamic, such as infidelity, abuse or injustice between victim and assailant. For example, the assailant believes that their spouse has been unfaithful and that this highly valued relationship has been lost. They may then struggle to accept any deviation from their original perception of the relationship or themselves. They thus kill their partner and children and themselves because they cannot live with or without their disappointing partner.

“Then there’s the perpetrator’s feeling of obligation to protect their spouse or family from the shame of their planned suicide or some offence that the perpetrator is going to be found guilty of. The perpetrator kills his family to ‘protect’ them from the shame and then themselves to avoid the consequences of their transgression.”

Del Fabbro cited the doctoral thesis of Coenraad Willem van den Heever (2007) on murder-suicides in the South African police. It found that the patriarchal dynamics between perpetrator and victim and the financial obligations of the perpetrator to the victim/s played a large part.

“The former would speak to the proprietary aspect of these offences, while the latter may indicate the shame that these individuals may feel in not being able to provide for their families… Access to firearms is a big enabler of this type of offence among the police. There may be a long history of domestic violence in the home preceding this.”

Del Fabbro says while there are support systems in place for police members to deal with the stressful conditions that may lead to incidents of murder-suicide, shame associated with getting help may make them less likely to use these services.

“Psycho-education around the benefits of counselling and psychological support to decrease the stigma could change this. There should be better awareness of risk signs in potential perpetrators, such as low mood, withdrawal, talk of death, talk of taking their own lives, and changes in personality or behaviour. These individuals can then be referred for mandatory psychological screening and intervention.”