The Mphepu magistrate court in Limpopo this week postponed a case against three men accused of kidnapping and killing an eight-year-old girl.
The case was postponed to September 18 for further investigations and the trio has been remanded in custody.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the child’s mother had sent her to the shop on August 5 2022 but the girl failed to come back home.
“On 20 June 2023, the mother received a message from an unknown person. When she phoned the number, it did not go through. She then notified the police,” said Ledwaba.
Ledwaba said through investigations, the sender of the message was traced and cooperated by providing information about the missing child.
“The statement was obtained from the sender of the message, which led to the arrest of three suspects on different dates.
“The first suspect was arrested on 23 August 2023 followed by the arrest of the second suspect on 25 August. The third one was nabbed on 28 August and it turned out that he is a very close family member of the child,” Ledwaba said.
Police commissioner in Limpopo Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe condemned the incident and described it as inhumane.
She said parents are supposed to protect their children and not harm them. The investigation continues.
A total of 10 512 people were raped between January and March 2023, according to crime statistics which were released in May.
That was a decrease of 306 cases or 2.8% from the same period in 2022.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said at the time that 4 768 of the incidents took place at the home of the victim or that of the perpetrator.
The crime statistics also showed that Inanda police station topped with rape cases, reporting 82 cases between January and March 2023.
It was followed by the Thohoyandou police station in Limpopo and Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape.
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