Pretoria – A 35-year-old Mpumalanga man charged with attempted murder after setting his girlfriend alight, has been denied bail by the Witbank Magistrate’s Court.
The case of Kholofelo Nonyane, who allegedly set his girlfriend on fire last December, has been postponed to September 4 for further investigation, the spokeswoman for the Mpumalanga director of public prosecutions Monica Nyuswa said.
“The court found that there is a strong case against Nonyane and he might interfere with state witnesses if released on bail," Nyuswa added.
On December 21, 2019, Nonyane allegedly had a heated argument with his 20-year-old girlfriend in their rented room in Old Coronation, Witbank.
He allegedly later poured paraffin on the woman and set her alight while she slept, before locking her in the room.
“When the victim woke up, she screamed for help from other tenants, who came to her assistance. Upon realising that she was badly burnt, the police and medical emergencies were summoned and the victim was taken to hospital," Nyuswa said.
The National Prosecuting Authority said Nonyane had gone on the run before being discovered at a hideout in Shatale, near Bushbuckridge earlier this month.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for greater intolerance for gender-based violence in South Africa amid rising reports of femicide and child abuse.
Ramaphosa told a virtual engagement with communities to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on society that his administration was concerned that these crimes continued unabated, despite efforts fight the scourge.
“There are attitudes that are ingrained in the behaviour of men in our country, the patriarchy where men feel that they own women, they can control women and they can do whatever they like to women. That needs to be addressed,” he said.