Uncle hacks niece with machete for chatting on phone

ZANELE Khatwya was happy when her uncle bought her a Samsung Galaxy phone worth R1 800.

But her uncle gave her rules regarding the phone.

She was not supposed to chat with men and he monitored her phone to ensure that didn’t happen.

So when he discovered she was communicating with male friends on Facebook, he hacked her with a panga on the right hand.

The incident happened over the weekend.

The 28-year-old from Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni, then locked herself in her bedroom and called for help through the window.

Neighbours heard her screams and came to help.

Zanele was taken to the local clinic and she later opened a case against her uncle, who was arrested.

She had since ran away from her uncle’s house.

Zanele said she had left her phone on the sofa while cooking when her uncle grabbed it and went through her messages.

“He began shouting at me for speaking to men. He said I was being disobedient to him. He slapped me and took a panga to attack me.”

Zanele said she communicated with her friends on topics such as sex and relationships, but there was nothing between them. She said she used to ask why her uncle monitored her phone and he said he did it because he bought the phone.

“I live in fear because he told me he was going to make sure he finished what he started.

“I pray he doesn’t get bail because he’s going to hunt me down.”

Neighbour Christopher Dlokweni told Daily Sun they heard a call for help and went to help.

“When I opened I found blood splattered on the floor and wall, I begged him to stop.

“He looked like a madman and I asked him to put the panga down and think about what he was doing,” he said.

Another neighbour said the uncle must pay for what he did.

“Women are being killed and it’s sad that they often die at the hands of people they trusted,” he said.

Captain Ramothakhi Maqabe of Etwatwa cop shop said a case of assault was opened and the uncle will appear in court soon.