“Please don't kill me, I have young children. Take money. I can transfer you some money now.”
These were the words of the wife of slain Mpumalanga chief Clyde Mnisi as she begged her murderers to spare her life moments before they shot her twice in the head in her home in Calcutta, Bushbuckridge, in the early hours of Tuesday.
Charlene Felicity Mathews, 30, was murdered in her lounge just after 1am. Two other people in the house were wounded. .
Her husband, an alleged rhino poaching middleman, was assassinated on the road near the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport on March 26. He was buried on Sunday.
Mnisi's brother Charles told Sowetan the family is living in fear after the murders of the couple.
“The boys [who were wounded during the shooting] heard people in the house and one tried to block the door from opening by pushing a bed against it, but when they pushed it open he jumped out the window and was shot in the leg.
“The intruders went to fetch makoti [Charlene] from the bedroom where she was sleeping with other women as part of mourning the death of her husband. They took her to the living room [and] she was heard screaming and begging them not to kill her, but she was shot twice in the head,” said Charles.
Mnisi, 37, was to appear in court on April 17 to face charges, including rhino poaching and money laundering. He was installed as chief of the Mnisi Tribal Authority five months ago.
Police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said preliminary investigations revealed armed suspect(s) got into the house and shot three people.
“Police found cartridges on the scene. A team of investigators has been assembled and have started the investigation. Part of the investigation will be to establish how the suspect(s) gained entry. The motive for the shooting is unknown. No-one has been arrested,” said Mohlala.
Mathews' twin brother Blessing told Sowetan he was shocked and expected a lot from his 30-year-old sister.
“I'm en route to Mbombela to get more information regarding what happened. I was at her home when we were burying her husband this past weekend and now my own sister has been assassinated. Charlene was a nice person from a young age,” said a shattered Blessing.
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