Suspected child killer and rapist still behind bars
The sidewalk in front of the Oberholzer Magistrates Court was a hive of activity on Monday as activists gathered for the court case of the man from Welverdiend who was arrested for the murder and rape of his baby daughter last month.
The 36-year-old appeared in the Carletonville Magistrates Court on Monday. He did not get bail and the case was postponed until 6 September for further investigation.
The man was arrested on 9 June after he had reportedly taken the fully-clothed eight-day-old baby girl from her mother (37) and exited the back room they had rented the day before.When he returned sometime later, the child was naked and injured. The mother went to the woman living in the main house on the property and showed her the injured baby.
The woman phoned an ambulance and the police.
The ambulance transported the baby to Carletonville Hospital, where she died the following morning.
While waiting for the court proceedings to continue a group of gender-based violence activists, some of whom travelled from Krugersdorp to attend, picketed in front of the court. The volunteers, who work together with the Department of Social Services, gathered at the court to raise awareness about the case.
“Crimes like these cannot be tolerated in our society but, unfortunately, they occur much too often. Just in this week a four-year-old was raped at Bekkersdal. There is also another case of a father accused of raping his 17-year-old daughter since 2016,” one of the activists, Ms Maria Ramatsie, told the Herald.
According to Ramatsie they will again picket at the next court appearances of the suspect from Welverdiend.
Currently, Section 154 (2) (b) of the Criminal Procedure Act makes it a crime to publish the names of persons who’ve been charged with rape or other sexual offences until they have pleaded.
