Eastern Cape mother and her 5 children found dead, husband missing

A mother and her five children, including an infant, were found killed at home in their rural Eastern Cape home on Tuesday night. Police says that the woman’s husband is missing and is wanted for questioning.

Police said they had found an axe, which is believed to have been the murder weapon, on the scene. The five children were aged between six months and ten years old. Their mother was 42. Her husband is believed to be a foreign national.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga described the incident in Dabekweni, in Kwaaiman, Mqanduli, between Mthatha and Coffee Bay, as shattering.

“It is inconceivable that just at the opening day of the 16 Days of Activism we can wake up to such a horrible and distressing incident. Whoever is behind these gruesome and heartless murders must be found without any delays,” she said.