Staff Reporter
Free State police have obtained a warrant of arrest for the husband of Lesedi FM current affairs presenter Dimakatso Ratselane who was brutally attacked and left for dead during a suspected domestic dispute last week.
Police say they have made several attempts to make contact with Mackenzie Ratselane after his wife was found by community members with multiple wounds on the south-eastern fringes of Bloemfontein on Thursday.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said the step taken by the police was as a result of lack of cooperation by Mackenzie as he continues to evade them.
“From today . . . Mackenzie Ratselane is regarded as a suspect on the run,” said Makhele in a statement released on Monday.
“He will be treated as such by any law-enforcement officer who will come across him anywhere within and outside the borders of this country, as we believe he has a serious case of attempted murder to answer,” he pointed out.
Dimakatso was found by some residents of Dinaweng last Thursday with serious injuries.
She was full of blood due to multiple stab wounds she had sustained and was not able to speak.
Police say the husband was the last person to be seen with the victim before she sustained the injuries.
He has not been back home since the incident and cannot be reached on his phone.
Sources believe he could have escaped into neighbouring Lesotho.
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says the incident brings back the spotlight on the issues of gender-based violence, particularly intimate partner violence.
Spokesperson Javu Baloyi said the commission was disappointed that the accused could have skipped the border.
“If this is true, we call upon the South African government to use all the diplomatic channels and the various Southern African Development Community treaties and protocols to ensure that he is arrested and extradited back to South Africa,” said Baloyi in a statement.
He said the CGE will continue to use various fora or platforms to highlight the worrying and increasing numbers in intimate partner violence and killings.
Anyone who comes across Mackenzie or may know his whereabouts should contact the head of the investigating team, Captain Paseka Mojaki, on 082 553 7639 or call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Information can also be anonymously shared via the MySAPS App.