MASERU — A 25-year-old man from Hlotse killed his 22-year-old wife with a spear before attempting to commit suicide.
The incident happened at the couple’s home in Leribe district on January 6.
Police said when the couple was discovered by their neighbours in the village the wife was already dead while the husband was unconscious.
The man was lying next to his wife’s dead body, police said.
There was also a bottle that police suspect contained a concoction of poison the man had drank.
“It is suspected that the man stabbed his wife with the spear before he attempted to kill himself with poison. But when they were found the man was just unconscious,” said police spokesperson Masupha Masupha.
The man was rushed to hospital where he later recovered.
He appeared in court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody pending further investigations.
In another incident in Ha-Bereng a man stabbed his wife to death before he was beaten to death by angry villagers.
According to Masupha the man fled after killing his wife but people in his village had already sent a message to neigbouring villages to capture him.
“It was reported that when the man got off a taxi in one of the nearby villages he was met by a mob of villagers who beat him to death,” he said.
Police investigations are still going on in both cases.
Masupha however said police were worried by the increasing cases of mob justice in the country.
“We are impressed by how people assist the police with arresting criminals. But it is illegal for them to punish and kill the suspects. It should not happen. They should just keep the criminals until they hand them over to the police. Then the law will take its course,” he said.
Comments are closed.