Durban - A 35-year-old KwaZulu-Natal woman's arms were chopped off and her skull smashed in allegedly by her boyfriend in an incident that has enraged the community and government.
This as the country observes 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.
The incident occurred in uMkhuze in northern KZN on Tuesday in front of the couple's two-year-old child.
The man killed himself after.
Acting KZN Premier, Ravi Pillay described the incident as a "gruesome incident of extreme torture and violence directed at women and children".
"The shocking attack took place on Tuesday in Mkuze in full watch of the victim’s 2-year-old child. She was then airlifted to St Augustine Hospital where she is currently undergoing a number of surgical procedures including one to re-attach her arms," the Premier's office said in a statement.
"Acting Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Ravi Pillay, will visit the woman in hospital. The Acting Premier will also give details about another gruesome gender-based violence incident that happened in KwaMashu where a pregnant woman was killed allegedly by her partner. The two cases are some of the most gruesome cases of gender-based violence recorded in the province since the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign," a statement said.
KwaZulu-Natal police did not respond to queries from the Daily News at the time of publishing.
The incident comes a day after the Durban High Court heard how a 26-year-old pregnant women was killed by her boyfriend.
The court was told the Sinethemba Ngubo, died of strangulation, apparently at the hands of her boyfriend, Simiso Chonco. But she suffered tremendously before dying, according to the evidence of a pathologist testifying in the Durban High Court.
Dr Ipileng Tsikwe, who conducted the post-mortem on the body of the pregnant Ngubo, gave a chilling account of how she must have been in agony because of unbearable vaginal and other injuries before being strangled.
Chonco allegedly killed Ngubo and dumped her body at the cemetery in Lindelani.
Undisputed evidence heard in the trial is that Ngubo drove to Chonco’s home in Ntuzuma on the day of the incident and found him with another woman.
When her knocks went unanswered, she became angry and broke the windows of his house. The two argued outside, before leaving in her car.
Ngubo’s body was later found at the cemetery, naked from the waist down