Husband who staged his wife’s suicide jailed for 15 years by Limpopo court

A Limpopo man who hanged his wife in their home in a staged suicide has been jailed for 15 years.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe welcomed the lengthy sentence handed down by the high court in Polokwane to Lesetja Mogau Chaba, 39.

The court found that on January 25, 2019, he murdered his wife, Lerato Ntjana Chaba, “by hanging her with a rope in their RDP house at Lebowakgomo Section S, making it look like a suicide,” said police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.

He then went to his parents’ house at Seleteng gaMphahlele, from where he contacted his neighbours alleging that he was trying to contact his wife without response. His neighbour went to check and found her hanging from the roof.

Hadebe applauded the investigating officer, Detective Warrant Officer Nkhulu Makgoba, for cracking the case.

“As we are currently implementing vigorous plans to fight the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, this sentence will send a clear message that the police are more than determined to crack any such cases and bring the culprits to book,” Hadebe said.

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