A Cape Town man is expected to make his second appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he allegedly murdered his partner and stuffed her body in a freezer.
The body of Busisiwe Mthethwa, 56, was found on Saturday, December 30 in her home in Jeff Masimola Street in Samora Machel.
Mthethwa was last seen by her family on Thursday, December 28, at around 3pm. Her neighbours, renting a space in the same yard, last saw her on December 29, at around 7pm.
Suspicion grew once Mthethwa’s partner, Brian Miripiri, 45, started selling her belongings.
“Her siblings indicated they had had a disagreement, followed by a fight and that is the last anyone heard from Busisiwe,” Sinelizwi Ncaluka from MOSAIC, an anti-GBV non-governmental organisation (NGO) said.
“It was only when the partner started selling her belongings and telling neighbours she had left for the Eastern Cape that the family suspected something was wrong.”
Mthethwa’s dismembered body was found in the chest freezer by her siblings.
Police subsequently arrested Miripiri after the discovery of the body.
Western Cape police spokesperson, Captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed the incident and said a suspect was arrested and has since appeared in court.
“We can confirm that a 45-year-old man was arrested in connection with the murder and appeared in Athlone Magistrate’s Court on January 2. The case was remanded until January 9. He remains in custody,” Van Wyk said.
The gruesome murder sent shock waves through the community who have now called for justice.
“We are outraged that a woman can be killed in their home, by a person they love, among and within a community,” Executive Director at MOSAIC, Tarisai Mchuchu-MacMillan said.
“We are certainly having more conversations around domestic violence and GBV, and acknowledge the increase in awareness, unfortunately, it does not mean this type of violence is decreasing.”
MOSAIC is a community-based organisation that works to prevent and reduce abuse and domestic violence by providing holistic, integrated services for the healing and empowerment of women through support services, access to justice, and training.
“The patriarchal masculinity that underpins the violence and abuse that women and children experience in their homes, relationships, and communities needs to change,” Mchuchu-MacMillan said.
“We need individuals, couples, family, and community members to enrol in free workshops, training, and dialogues that are designed to equip people with life skills that lead to non-violent, peaceful homes, relationships, and communities.”
The organisation coordinates a multi-stakeholder platform called SAFE in communities where various local representatives work together to address GBV with a focus on domestic and intimate-partner violence.
“We must ensure that tragedies like that of Busisiwe Mthethwa will not happen again in our communities. We must work to prevent perpetrators like Brian Miripiri, who use power and control against their partners, who struggle to control their emotions and violent impulses where abuse ends up leading to murder,” Mchuchu-MacMillan said.
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