Police have confirmed the two women from Mpumalanga who were torched in July have died. 

The 35-year-old man arrested for the crimes will now have his charges changed from attempted murder to murder in the Emalahlenu Magistrate’s Court. 

On Wednesday, July 23, at about 6pm, the suspect set alight the 21-year-old mother of his children and her relative, a 23-year-old woman who allegedly intervened during the incident in Vosman. 

At the time of the incident, provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, said the two women sustained serious burn wounds and were rushed to the hospital by a member of the community. 

The suspect was arrested at about 9pm on the same night of the crime. 

The two women, who were fighting for their lives in the hospital, died at the weekend. 

“The 21-year-old woman sadly passed away on Sunday, August 3, while the 23-year-old woman sadly succumbed to her injuries on Friday, August 1,” police said. 

He is expected to appear in court on Thursday, August 7. 

Anti-gender-based violence organisation Ilitha Labantu expressed concern over the horrific incident. 

Speaking to IOL, the organisation’s spokesperson, Siyabulela Monakali, said this tragedy is yet another painful reminder of the brutal and relentless violence that women continue to face in South Africa. 

“It is made even more devastating by the fact that such atrocities appear to escalate during Women’s Month, a time intended to honour the struggles and triumphs of women. Instead, we are confronted by acts of extreme cruelty that highlight the persistent crisis of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in our country,” Monakali said. 

He said South Africa’s femicide rate remains five times higher than the global average. 

“These are not abstract statistics. They represent real lives lost, mothers, daughters and sisters, whose deaths often occur at the hands of those closest to them. What makes this moment particularly sad is not only the frequency of these killings but the sheer brutality with which they are carried out,” he said. 

Monakali said these acts of violence cannot be normalised. 

“We cannot normalise this. It is not acceptable. And yet it continues, sustained by systemic failures that have allowed GBVF to thrive in a society where women’s lives are consistently devalued. From inadequate policing to weak prosecutorial outcomes and the lack of safe alternatives for women at risk, these murders reflect a broader collapse in the structures meant to protect.

“Ilitha Labantu calls for swift justice in this case but also demands that government and relevant stakeholders stop managing GBVF through performative gestures and start implementing real, long-term interventions. Violence against women has reached pandemic scales and we all need to play our part to eliminate this scourge,” Monakali said. 

He added that until women are truly free from all forms of violence and abuse, we cannot claim to be building a society that values justice, dignity or equality. 

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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