Wife’s pics lead to threat-to-kill charge
A husband found himself in court this week facing a threat-to-kill charge after allegedly telling his wife he would end both her life and his because of photos she had posted on her WhatsApp status.
39-year-old Morupi Nyeru, of Matshwane ward in Maun, reportedly went berserk at his wife, Keitsheletse Nyeru, 28, for pictures she took of herself over the weekend.
It seems that on Saturday, Keitsheletse left for nearby Chanoga to drop off some maize seeds. While in the village, she went down to the river, where she took some scenic snaps with her female cousin, later uploading the pics to her social media.
“The accused person who is the husband to the complainant viewed the status and got annoyed suspecting that his wife was dated by another man at the river,” the police recorded in court.
“Upon arrival from Chanoga a misunderstanding between the two erupted and the accused person then uttered the following, ‘Ngwaga o fa o ka ntlhala ke tla go bolaya a be ke ipolaya,’ (if you divorce me this year, I will kill you and kill myself),” continue the cops.
Keitsheletse is said to have reported the threats to her brother and asked him to come to their house the following morning to help them resolve their differences.
However, the brother reportedly called the husband’s uncle and both of them went to Maun Police Station to report the alleged threat.
According to the state prosecutor, Mmoloki Boshadi, Morupi was arrested on Sunday and his wife gave testimony in written evidence of what had happened the previous night.
Although Keitsheletse maintains that when she gave the statement to the police she did not mean to open a case but rather explain the facts, her husband was brought before Maun Magistrate Court on Wednesday morning. Although the police admitted they had no strong grounds to hold Morupi, who was allowed to go free, they refused to drop the charges.
“This is a GBV (Gender Based Violence) matter, we cannot withdraw it,” explained Boshadi, adding the case was reported by the couple’s elders in fear of their well being.
The cops have since forwarded the matter to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for guidance.