Mpumalanga Man Sets Girlfriend on Fire, Community Rescues Her

• A Mpumalanga man doused his girlfriend with petrol and set her alight in the early hours of Tuesday morning
• Their neighbours heard her screaming and found her in flames, and when he saw the neighbours, he fled
• The community assisted the woman and saved her, and the South African Police Service arrested him shortly after

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

CAROLINA, MPUMALANGA — A community in Carolina, Mpumalanga, saved a young woman's life from being burned to death by her boyfriend.

Community rescues woman set on fire

IOL reported that community members discovered something was wrong when the 22-year-old woman screamed for help at 3am on 20 August 2024. Community members rushed out to investigate the source of the screams and they discovered a horrific scene.

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They found the woman engulfed in flames and screaming in agony. Her 34-year-old boyfriend was witnessed pouring a liquid from a container onto her. When he saw the neighbours coming to rescue the woman, he immediately stopped and ran away. They put in a valiant effort to extinguish the fire and the woman was taken to hospital.

The South African Police Service later arrested the man and opened an attempted murder case.

The violent incident horrified South Africans

Social media users on Facebook were horrified that the man attacked his girlfriend.

Survivor Ndlovu said:

"That's heartless for a man to burn someone's child like burning coal."

Stefanus Oosthuizen asked:

"What's wrong with South Africans? The attacks on lovers, spouses, family members and members of the public are becoming a frequent occurrence."

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Johan van Emmenes said:

"What a barbaric act."

Vovo Wakwa Mbathane asked:

"Where is all this anger coming from, though? Something has to be done, really."

Dean Mohale said:

"We are living in a violent society."

Free state man attacks girlfriend with axe for cheating

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a man from the Free State allegedly attacked his girlfriend with an axe.

He found his partner with another man in his bedroom and a fight ensued. He tried to stab her and she disarmed him, and he fetched an axe, which he attacked her with.

Source: Briefly News