Man Kills, Hangs Wife After She Refuses Sex

A woman in Kaoma District has died following an alleged domestic assault by her husband on New Year’s Day, in a case police initially treated as suicide but later confirmed as murder.

The victim, Kashiba Kahinda, was reportedly attacked by her husband, Michael Kahyata, 44, after she refused his demand for intimacy. Kahyata is now in police custody, facing a murder charge.

Western Province Police Commanding Officer Rae Hamoonga said the incident occurred around 5:00 p.m. in Folkland Township, shortly after Kahinda returned home from a church service with her children. “Preliminary investigations and statements from the children indicate that the deceased was murdered and later hanged,” Hamoonga said.

Police reports indicate that Kahyata became angry when his wife spent the night away from home. He allegedly assaulted her inside their house, threatening the children when they tried to intervene.

According to Hamoonga, Kahyata staged the scene to appear as a suicide. He reportedly instructed the children to enter the bedroom, where they found their mother hanging. He then cut the cloth with scissors, causing her body to fall onto the bed, before telling neighbours that she had taken her own life.

Suspicious neighbours attempted to restrain him, but he escaped. Kahyata was eventually apprehended on January 2 in the Folkland area by a relative of the deceased and handed over to police.

Police have urged community members to report any signs of domestic violence to prevent similar tragedies.