By Kaya 959
A Klerksdorp father, accused of murdering his toddler daughter and stuffing her body in the ceiling, has abandoned his bail application.
The man will remain in police custody while investigations in the case continue.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the North West, Henry Mamothame, said the man went to fetch the two-year-old from her mother’s home in Jouberton.
The woman was in hospital and her family assumed he would return the child later. When questioned, the 47-year-old man denied taking the child.
When the woman was discharged a day later, she went to look for her daughter and could not find her.
Neighbours make gruesome discovery
The woman opened a missing person’s case at the local police station.
“Further investigations by the police led to the arrest of the father. He was charged with kidnapping after failing to tell the police where the child was. It is alleged that, following a bad smell coming from the suspect’s house, the neighbours investigated and discovered the lifeless body of the child hidden inside the ceiling,” Mamothame said.
The police were called and a murder charge was added. The matter is due back in court next month.
READ: Pretoria mom accused of killing her two children appears in court
Man sentenced for teen’s rape
Meanwhile, a Piet Retief man has been sentenced to life for gang-raping a teenager in 2017.
Lindokuhle Madonsela, was part of a group that chased down three young girls who had been walking in Driefontein.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said Mandonsela was initially charged with five other minors, who were later acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
“In 2017, the rape survivor had been walking with three of her friends when the group chased them. Her friends managed to outrun the men but the teen was caught, taken to a secluded area where the men gang raped her,” she said.
The matter was reported to police and the girl was only able to identify Madonsela. He was then arrested.
READ: Taxi driver dumps schoolboy (5) at roadside for not having fare
Madonsela did not dispute that he had sexual intercourse but claimed that they were in a love relationship. He further denied that he was part of the group that gang-raped her.
A DNA report linking Madonsela with the offence was also presented.
Nyuswa said the Regional Court Prosecutor, Advocate Marlin Cairncross, argued that the victim’s identification of Madonsela as one of the assailants was trustworthy and credible.
“The court rejected Madonsela’s version and accepted the state’s submission in particular that gang rape is one of the worst forms of rape and the traumatic effect the victim had in her life,” she said.
