Forget this viral tweet, South African men don't kill women

A Nigerian woman on Twitter

Her tweet on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, has gone viral and it reflects the issues of cheating and physical violence in relationships.

"Fear no allow me reply "Hi" of a South African man yestrday. I'll stick wit Nigerian men Pls. Na cheat dem dey cheat, dem no dey kill women" she tweeted. The tweet has racked up over 700 retweets and over 300 likes.

@Steadi_Lady's tweet most likely refers to the story of Karabo Mokoena by her ex-boyfriend early in April 2017.

Her former boyfriend Sandile Mantsoe standing trial for the premeditated murder and burning the body of Karabo. The story not only shocked South Africans but Nigerians as well. The murder of Karabo Mokoena once again brought up the topic of physical abuse in relationships.

Shortly after Karabo Mokoena's murder, in May 2017, the bodies of two ladies were discovered in South Africa. According to reports, the women were abducted, raped and murdered.

Soweto Times reported that bodies of the two ladies identified as undefined, who were close friends, were found at a dumping site in Tladi informal settlement, Johannesburg, on the morning of Tuesday, May 16, 2017, a few days after they were reported missing.

These unfortunate incidents have sparked the narrative that South African men are violent lovers. However this is a knee jerk reaction to these types of stories that are coming out of South Africa.

Nigeria has its fair share of relationship issues that go beyond just cheating. With the use of social media, more and more Nigerian women are opening up and talking about the physical assault they had to endure in relationships and marriages. Some cases of domestic violence have led to death also.

Stories of women killed by their lovers or disgruntled ex-boyfriends is not a South African thing. Several countries in Africa and outside of Africa are dealing with this same issue.

What makes South Africa peculiar now is that it seems to be producing a lot of these gruesome crimes of passion. This, however, should not be substituted with the sentiment that South African men kill women.