- Police Minister Bheki Cele has urged men to stop brutalising and violating women and children.
- He says police have a responsibility to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and dealt with by the law.
- He was reacting to the murder of a mother and her five children in the Eastern Cape, who were hacked to death with an axe.
Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on men to stop violence against women and children after an Eastern Cape man allegedly hacked his wife and five children to death with an axe.
According to police, the 34-year-old man has since been arrested.
"It is the responsibility of the police to ensure that those who carry out such gruesome acts are arrested and dealt with by the laws of this country," Cele said in statement.
"However, such arrests only come after the fact and in many instances, it is after lives are destroyed and lost. So I am making a call to men, I urge you all to stop brutalising and violating women and children… it's that simple."
The woman, 42, and her children, aged between six months and 10 years, were attacked with an axe, which authorities believe was the same weapon found at the crime scene.
"Police then cast their net wide to find the husband of the deceased mother who detectives thought could assist in their investigations. Within 24 hours after the heinous crime, police arrested the husband, a Zimbabwean national," said police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba.
READ | Eastern Cape mom and five children found murdered, police looking for husband
The man was reportedly in hiding at the time of his arrest and was allegedly preparing to flee the country.
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