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Eastern Cape police are investigating four murder cases after four children were found allegedly bludgeoned to death by their own mother at KuMhlabubomvu, in the Engcobo Local Municipality.
Police spokesperson, Tembinkosi Kinana said the 31-year-old woman had gone to sleep on Tuesday night with her children, aged between two and 11-years-old, in their home.
Reports allege that in the morning, the bodies of the four children were found battered in the rondavel where they were sleeping with their mother.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that they had been assaulted by their own mother with a sledge hammer. Consequently, they suffered serious injuries to the upper bodies,” said Kinana.
The woman was immediately arrested and detained on murder charges, while investigators probe the circumstanced that led to the horrific deaths of the four children.
She will appear at the Engcobo Magistrates’ Court once the police officially charge her.
In another incident, a woman has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for murdering her infant child in cold blood.
Phindile Sibiya (26) was convicted of murder and defeating the ends of justice by the Mpumalanga High Court on Wednesday.
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Sibiya confessed that last year, she got pregnant by an unnamed man, who she could not get a hold of after she realised he had impregnated her.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa said the accused hid the pregnancy from her mother because she threatened to chase her away as she already has two children, who are not being supported by their fathers.
Sibiya then went to a clinic in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy, but this was unsuccessful as she was in later stages of pregnancy.
She then concealed the pregnancy until her delivery date on 1 January 2022.
“She felt labour pains and went to the toilet on two occasions where she passed urine and on the third occasion, she then took a pair of scissors with her. On her way to the toilet, she knelt and gave birth to a female child whom she immediately stabbed with scissors several times until she died,” said Nyuswa.
The next morning, her mother noticed blood stains in the house and questioned Sibiya about it, of which she came clean and told her that she gave birth and had murdered the child.
Sibiya went to retrieve the body of the child and the matter was reported to the police.
A photo album and a post-mortem report was submitted as evidence by the State, and confirmed that the deceased was born alive.
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