38-Year-Old Man Burns Self, 2 Children To Death After Being Dumped By Girlfriend

When Maserame discovered that her lover was married, she told him to leave her house. But Eugene could not accept that he had been dumped and was seen entering the house with a bottle of petrol.

Fire broke out . . . when the flames died down; three corpses were found in the ruins!

Eugene Linda (38), the cheating boyfriend, was found in the kitchen, where he had burnt to death. His child, Tholane Babuile (8), and his stepson, Kelello (18), who had a damaged spine, both died in the fire. Eugene couldn't take being told to leave.

Maserame Babuile (42), the girlfriend who had asked the man to leave her house in Mohlakeng extension 11, west of Johannesburg was injured but managed to get out of the house when it was set alight.

Maserame's younger sister, Mantswaki Tsotetsi (39) told our news crew: "Her boyfriend was very unhappy after Maserame told him to leave. He wanted to know why Maserame had never said anything when she was staying in his shack, but when she got the RDP, she chased him away."

Maserame had three kids with another man and an eight-year-old son with Eugene. Last Saturday, Eugene, who has a wife in Mozambique, left the house and didn't come back until Sunday morning. Mantswaki said neighbours said he had a bottle of petrol with him. He found the kids asleep with his girlfriend.

It appears he poured the petrol into the bedroom and set it alight, killing the two children and setting himself on fire. Eugene's burnt corpse was found in the kitchen. Maserame and Lesego (16) sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Last year, when the couple moved into the RDP, they wanted to buy a vacant plot worth R10 000.

Maserame's kids gave R6,000 and Eugene gave R4,000.

"When Maserame said he must leave, he demanded R6 000 and that's when the problems started."

Maserame's surviving daughter, Puleng Babuile (20) told Daily Sun she was lucky to be alive. "My mother told me to go and visit my friends. We didn't know that tragedy was going to strike," said Puleng.

Captain Appel Ernst of the Randfontein Police Station said, "We have opened an inquest docket. The suspect is dead and there is no point in opening a murder docket. We are investigating how the fire was started. The woman and the boy are badly injured and still in hospital."