Alleged murderer of 11-year-old Limpopo girl denied bail

A 35-year-old suspect alleged to be involved in the murder of an 11-year-old girl at Ga-Marishane Village, Limpopo, appeared in court on Monday.

The suspect, Bheka Nkgodi Rapolai was arrested for the alleged murder of an 11-year-old girl, Thandi Mampane, at Ga-Marishane Village outside Groblersdal earlier this month.

On Monday, the 35-year-old suspect appeared in the Nebo Magistrate’s Court, facing charges of abduction, rape and murder.

Rapolai was denied bail and his cases were postponed to October 1, when he will make his formal bail application.

Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe, said Rapolai committed “these heinous crimes while on parole for an offence of escaping from lawful custody and had served a year of his three-year sentence”.

His arrest follows the incident of murder which occurred between the 5th and the 6th of September 2019 when the deceased, Thandi Mampane, allegedly left home to go to school on the 5th and never returned, Moatshe said.

“The missing person incident was reported to the police and a search operation ensued, until her lifeless body was found in the bushes outside this village, on the September 6, 2019.”

Moatshe added that police in the province said investigations into Mampane’s murder are ongoing.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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