According to the police in Carletonville, an argument broke out between the man and his girlfriend on Saturday night. It happened in the shack they rented in a backyard in Khutsong Extension 5.
The fight allegedly revolved around the woman wanting to wear trousers. Her boyfriend felt that it was only appropriate for her to dress in a skirt.
The argument got so heated that the girlfriend had to sneak into the property owner’s house to get safe shelter for the night. When the woman found her there the next morning, she sat down with the couple for a talk. During this discussion, the girlfriend reportedly asked her boyfriend what he had done with some of their children’s clothes.
The boyfriend then got upset, stormed out and took off with the children. Not knowing what to do next, the girlfriend and her landlady went to a community leader in the area for help. While there, they saw her boyfriend walking past without the children.
After he refused to say where the children were, members of the community grabbed him and interrogated him until he talked. They also called the police.
With the help of the police, the man took them to a hole in the ground in the veld at Khutsong Extension 4 in which he had tied up the little ones, aged eighteen months and three years old respectively. The children were given back to their mother while the boyfriend was arrested on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, contravening a protection order and intimidation.
According to the investigating officer, Constable Malesela Kekana, the suspect did not receive bail.
At the time of the newspaper going to print, it was uncertain when his next court appearance would be. The state intends to oppose bail.
