Mental patient kills two toddlers before committing suicide

Date: 19 September 2003 By: Ndivhuwo Musetha

The Ngoveni and Chauke families were good neighbours since they moved to the village close to three decades ago, but had never communicated since the death of Doctor and Pretty Ngoveni, aged six and five and Mishack Chauke (21).

It is alleged that Chauke, who ran away from the Malamulele Hospital, last week sent his siblings aged seven and four, to call Doctor and Pretty. He then took them into dense bush, three kilometers away from home. He raped Pretty in front of the three other kids, before he attacked her and Doctor with a screwdriver, before disappearing. Chauke's children found a shepherd, whom they asked the way home. They also explained what had happened to Doctor and Pretty. When members of the community arrived at the scene of the incident, they found the lifeless bodies of Doctor and Pretty, lying next to each other, with stab wounds. The police later confirmed that Pretty was stabbed eight times, while doctor was stabbed seven times. They also confirmed that Pretty was raped before she was killed.

Chauke was later found hanging, four kilometers from the scene of the incident. Doctor and Pretty were buried last Friday, with the assistance of the National Legal Aid, through the Thulamela Municipality. Chauke was buried on Saturday. Both families blamed the Department of Health and Welfare for letting Chauke run away from the hospital. Their other concern was why the hospital admitted Chauke to a general ward, as it was stated during his admission on August 25, that he was a mental patient.

The spokesperson for the Department of Health, Mr Phuti Seloba, said Chauke told the nurses that he was going to the toilet on Wednesday morning and jumped the fence at the back of the hospital. Seloba added that they were trying to build high security fences to avoid similar escapes. He also said it was difficult for security officers to see what might be happening at the back of the hospital, as they are always at the gate.

He, however, stated that he was not justifying the incident and that they are investigating the incident. "If we discover any neglect, steps will be taken," he said.

Seloba also stated that Chauke's parents knew that he was home, but they did not inform the hospital or police about his whereabouts. Mr Ngoveni, a farm worker and the father of Doctor, said that the Department of Health, the police and Chauke family are responsible for the death of the children. Doctor was the youngest of his five children and Pretty was his granddaughter. Mr Chauke said that he had sent two people to the Ngoveni family, but his attempts to discuss the situation fell on deaf ears.

Chauke said his first-born of a family of eight children, first had a mental problem in 1999. "He was calling the names of people who he claimed were bewitching him. The same thing happened at the evening of August 25 and he told us that some people wanted to kill him."

The Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme, under the leadership of Ms Fiona Nicholson, is helping the two families to cope with the incident, especially with the children who witnessed the crime. Nicholson urged the community to help fighting against the alarming rise in crime. She said their office has attended to more that 500 cases of rape since last year. She added that more than 365 women and children in th earea were raped every month.

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Ndivhuwo Musetha

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