Suspect in court for kidnapping and murder of Bokgabo Poo
Ntokozo Zikhali (30), the suspect charged with the kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Bokgabo Poo, appeared before the Benoni Magistrate Court on Monday, October 17.
The little girl from Wattville in the City of Ekurhuleni was reported missing a week earlier on, October 10.
During the court proceedings, it was discovered that the suspect is out on bail after being accused of raping a nine-year-old girl.
In a dramatic turn of events, the father of Bokgabo was overwhelmed with anger when he jumped on the court bars trying to reach the suspect.
The Magistrate has postponed the case to October 24, this as the lawyer representing the suspect has withdrawn from the case. Zikhali is charged with five counts of kidnapping, rape, murder, mutilation of a corpse and defeating the ends of justice.
The search for the suspect was started by the community, looking for the man who was last seen with Bokgabo.
On Tuesday, October 11, a leg of a child was discovered in a shallow grave inside a yard of a house in Tamboville.
Later in the afternoon, a mutilated body was discovered a few meters away from the house where the leg was found. At that time, the parents of Bokgabo could not identify the body as that of the missing girl.
A case of murder was opened and a team consisting of seasoned police officers from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, Forensic Experts, Occult Related Crimes Unit and local detectives was formed to prioritise and investigate the case.
On Friday, October 14, the suspect was arrested in Boksburg North.
On Saturday, the family of Bokgabo positively identified the body as that of their missing daughter.
The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, commended the police team and the community members for working together around the clock to search for the missing child and for the collection of evidence that led to the arrest of the suspect.
Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi and MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko visited the parents and the family to convey their condolences today.
He urged to the community and media gathered outside the house to help the family find the missing body parts of little Bokgabo.
“We are dealing with somebody who has been an enemy of our people. We are dealing with somebody who has done things like this before, somebody who is heartless. We are dealing with somebody who we believe the law must not give a chance to get bail in his life,” said Lesufi.