Police were summoned to a complaint of an alleged assault at Riverside informal settlement in Hoopstad on Wednesday (30/9) at approximately 12:55. Free State police spokesperson Sergeant Palesa Thabana said officers arrived at the scene and met a male who identified himself as the victim’s boyfriend.

He allegedly directed the officers to a dwelling, where they found Tsholofelo Moahlodi lying unresponsive on a bed with injuries to her head and face. The 31-year-old was taken to hospital by emergency medical services for urgent medical examination and treatment.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was allegedly physically assaulted by her boyfriend in the presence of the couple’s two-year-old twins. This is following allegations of infidelity. The victim sustained serious injuries to the head and face.”

The 39-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene on a charge of domestic-related physical assault. Moahlodi later succumbed to her injuries in hospital, said Thabana. The suspect is expected to appear in the Hoopstad Magistrate‘s Court on Friday (2/10) on a charge of murder.

Free State MEC for social development, Mathabo Hlalele described Moahlodi as a hardworking woman who dedicated herself to the development of her community. She said intimate partner violence is one of the most brutal manifestations of patriarchy, where women are subjected to violence, control and, ultimately, loss of life within relationships that should provide love, dignity and safety.

Hlalele said the killing of women by their intimate partners cannot be reduced to a private family dispute, describing it as a serious societal crisis and an attack on the fundamental right of women to live freely and safely.

“No woman should have to fear that the person who professes to love her will become the person who takes her life. Intimate partner killings expose the deep rooted violence and patriarchal attitudes that continue to threaten women in our communities. Tsholofelo’s death must strengthen, rather than weaken, the resolve to confront gender-based violence and femicide,” said Hlalele.

She called on society to reject the normalisation of violence against women and challenge the culture of silence that often surrounds abusive relationships.

Free State social development spokesperson Thembile Nqabeni said the department remains committed to strengthening social interventions, psychosocial support, prevention programmes and community mobilisation aimed at confronting GBVF and femicide at its roots.

He said the struggle against GBVF requires collective action, political will, and a fundamental transformation of the attitudes that sustain violence against women.

 OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

• Have a news tip to share? Phone or whatsapp the OFM News Hotline on 066 487 1427.