Publications
- The Zimbabwean woman accused of murdering her husband and dismembering him has died.
- Nancy Majonhi allegedly murdered her husband in 2015 in the North West, but only confessed to it in January this year.
- After allegedly beating him to death with a hammer, she used a spade to dismember him and dumped the body parts in pit latrines.
A woman accused of murdering her husband with a hammer before dismembering his body with a spade in the North West has died.
Murder-accused Nancy Majonhi, 42, who was hospitalised for an unknown illness and then subsequently went on a hunger strike, died in hospital on Saturday morning.
North West Department of Health spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane told News24 Majonhi, who is a Zimbabwean national, died in Moses Kotane Hospital.
He said a post-mortem would be conducted to reveal the cause of death.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the NPA would await official confirmation from the investigating officer before it closed the case.
Majonhi previously said her husband, Prosper Chipungare, 44, had gone missing in July 2015.
However, in January this year, she allegedly confessed to her family in Zimbabwe she had murdered Chipungare.
READ | Husband's 'ghost' allegedly drove a woman to confess to killing, dismembering him
News24 reported according to Majonhi's brother, Andrew, she confessed to the crime because his ghost had been haunting her.
"She claimed that Chipungare was haunting her and that his ghost was giving her sleepless nights. She wanted people to know the truth. She wanted the family to know how she killed her husband," he said.
Majonhi, who was arrested in Zimbabwe, made her first appearance in the Mogwase Magistrate's Court in August after she was extradited to South Africa.
Before she could apply for bail, the court heard she had fallen ill and was too weak to attend proceedings.
It was also heard she had embarked on a hunger strike and refused to take medication while hospitalised. It was not revealed what illness Majonhi was suffering from.
Body parts found in destroyed pit toilets
It is alleged she attacked her husband during an argument in their rented room in Ledig six years ago. She allegedly hit him with a hammer several times.
After killing him, Majonhi then allegedly used a spade to dismember Chipungare and dumped his body parts in three pit latrines in the area.
Afterwards, she cleaned up the crime scene until there was no trace of the murder that had occurred, News24 reported.
She then went to the police to open a missing person's case.
READ | Woman accused of butchering husband and dumping his body in pit latrines wants bail
"She said she killed Chipungare after they argued over money. Nancy claimed that she confronted Chipungare about his misuse of family finances. She became irate and killed him," Andrew said.
Following her arrest and alleged confession, the police went to the pit latrines only to find they had been demolished.
However, human remains were found among the excrement and taken for DNA testing.
"This is unbelievable. It was an ugly and painful sight when Chipungare's remains were exhumed from three pit toilets. I am not going to judge my sister for what she did. The court of law will," Andrew added.
Chipungare's former church mate, Lovemore Sithole, told News24 the former miner was "butchered like an animal".
"Nancy told us that our church mate had gone to Cape Town and would return. Years went by, and we continued receiving the same answer until she was arrested."
