Cape Town – Bodies of a young father and his three-year-old son were retrieved from the Cornelius River near Ezenzeleni-Warden, Free State, on Sunday, in what police suspected to be a case of murder-suicide.
Police said that the father, Bafana Radebe, 25, and the mother of the toddler, Sesi Radebe, 20, had an argument before the father threw the child into the river, and then jumped in afterwards.
“It is alleged that on Saturday, 3 July 2022 at about 13:15, Bafana went to Sesi’s home where he tried to strangle her. She started walking to the police station in Warden to report him but he followed them.
“He finally caught them near Cornelius River before crossing over the bridge. He again tried to strangle and throw her into the river but failed, as she managed to escape, leaving him with the toddler,” police spokesperson Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring said in a statement.
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A community member saw the father throwing the son into the river before jumping into the same river himself.
“The matter was reported to the police in which Sasolburg K9 Search and Rescue Unit was summoned to the scene. They contacted Welkom Diving Unit for support, which came on Sunday morning and successfully retrieved the two bodies which were positively identified by both families,” said Mophiring.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Baile Motswenyane described the incident as “sad” and urged women to report cases of abuse “immediately”.
“It’s a sad incident to the families, especially to mother of the child but I humbly request women experiencing any form of abuse to break the silence and report the abusers immediately.
“I want to thank our Free State police Search and Rescue and Diving Units for not tiring in bringing the service to our community under this challenging and cold weather conditions”, said Motswenyane.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
