Man burns ex-lover’s privates

A QwaQwa woman has been left scarred and traumatised for life after her jilted lover allegedly burnt her private parts, backside and face using a red-hot cattle branding iron in a gruesome case of domestic violence.

The torture suffered by Puleng Mosase, 29, is believed to have been sparked by a dispute over custody and maintenance money for the upkeep of her three-year-old son with the alleged monster.

The accused, Teboho Sithole, a 36-year-old general hand with the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality which runs the eastern Free State town of QwaQwa, is set to appear in the Phuthaditjaba Magistrates Court this Friday for his bail hearing.

When he first appeared in the dock on Monday this week, the court heard that the victim – besides suffering serious burn wounds to her private organ, buttocks and face – might also be unable to walk again after her knees were allegedly bashed with an unknown object by her estranged fiancé.

Sithole is facing a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but the state is expected to lay more charges against the suspect who is believed to have held the victim hostage for three days.

The two were no longer staying together as a couple but they both live in QwaQwa’s Mahlabatheng township.

Mosase’s blood-curling ordeal started on the night of August 10 when she reportedly went to fetch her son who had visited his father in the neighbourhood.

According to the victim’s mother, Masechaba Mosase, the estranged couple was always quarreling over the child’s custody and other issues since the days they were still live-in partners.

She also told The Weekly that Sithole was apparently unhappy paying court-ordered maintenance money for the upkeep of his son when Mosase was at the same time receiving a state grant for the boy.

The young woman was only rescued from her ordeal last Tuesday after her mother, worried about her whereabouts, went to Sithole’s house in the neighbourhood and found her battered daughter left for dead, weak and unable to scream, sprawling on the floor.

Masechaba Mosase made the gory discovery after she got suspicious and peeped through a window as her knocking on the door had gone unanswered.

“Sithole has a three-old-son with my daughter, Puleng, and he pays for the child’s maintenance every month,” the mother told The Weekly.

“In spite of the couple’s separation, the boy’s bond with his father is so strong that he regularly goes to Sithole’s house without anyone’s knowledge,” she added.

“So last Tuesday, after my daughter had gone missing for three days, I went to Teboho’s place accompanied by police and found her lying motionless on the floor,” Masechaba Mosase narrated.

“She had burn injuries on the face, buttocks and private parts, while her knees were broken,” she alleged.

“She could not walk and had to crawl to open one of the windows in order for the police officers to gain entrance to the house and rescue her.”

Police expect to get intimate details of the outrageous case of domestic violence from the victim when she recovers enough from the trauma to be able to narrate the incident.

Mosase has since been released from Elizabeth Ross Hospital in QwaQwa and is nursing her second-degree burn wounds at her parents’ home.

According to QwaQwa-based medical doctor, Khahliso Mofokeng, the injuries suffered by Mosase could after the young mother’s health for life.

“Depending on the depth of the injuries, she could develop cancer or experience difficulty when passing urine, which could result in involuntary urination due to the damage to the urethra,” Dr Mofokeng told The Weekly.

“She could also be unable to give birth the natural way and could need to undergo surgery to do so,” she added.

The state is expected to oppose Sithole’s application for release on bail when he appears in court today.

“Mosase . . . could not attend the case in which she is a complainant because Sithole left her incapacitated – she cannot talk nor walk as a result of the torture she suffered,” prosecutor Teboho Maponya told the court on Monday.

“Also, the investigating officer has indicated that he would be adding further charges once Puleng has regained her ability to talk and relate the events of the fateful three days.”

Maponya added that releasing Sithole on bail would put Mosase’s life in danger because the two stay in the same area.

Defence lawyer Ntaoleng Kambule, from the state-funded Legal Aid, however, argued during the brief court appearance that denying the accused bail would be unfair.

“Denying him bail would affect his work as he is employed at the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality and spending many days without reporting for work would cost him his job,” Kambule said.

“Besides, he no longer stays with Mosase.”

Sithole has been in custody since his arrest last Thursday

The case ironically happened during Women’s Month, marked every August to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society, while efforts against the abuse of women are also always among the central themes of the commemorations.

QwaQwa-based human rights organisation Thusanang Advice Centre chairman Samuel Komako condemned the incident.

“It is very unfortunate that our men still do not understand that they are supposed to protect women instead of violating them,” he told The Weekly in an interview.

“We encourage women to report abuse in their families so they can be protected, before they end up with debilitating and sometimes irreversible injuries like Mosase.”

People Opposed to Women Abuse (Powa) said South Africa had made significant strides in terms of women empowerment by repealing laws that discriminated against women as well as signing gender development protocols.

“Unfortunately, men like Sithole continue to undermine such gains,” Powa spokesperson Bekhile Khuphe noted.

“Without financial freedom and independence women will remain victims and men perpetrators. Poverty and hunger are some of the major causes of women abuse . . . they fail to report the abuse by their sources of income, mainly boyfriends and fathers, because they are afraid to lose the financial support.”