Suspect’s arrest gives little comfort to family of murdered Soweto girl

The family of Amantle Samane, six, say the arrest of the suspect in her murder brings little comfort, as they will never see their child again.

Mozambican national Pethe Simiao was arrested in connection with the rape and murder of Amantle on Wednesday evening.

‘Arrest will not bring her back’

Her maternal grandmother Rebecca Samane said: “His arrest will not bring her back. We want him to get a life sentence.

“He must not get bail or parole. This must serve as a lesson to all who think they can get away with raping and killing women and children. The fact that we will never see her again is painful.”

She added: “He must feel the same pain. If it were up to us, he would be handed over to the community.”

At a media briefing, Gauteng police commissioner lieutenant-general Tommy Mthombeni confirmed that Simiao was arrested in Zola, where he was renting a second property.

He said a case for harbouring him had been opened. According to police, the suspect was in possession of a Mozambican passport, but was in the country illegally.

“When we traced his movements through the department of home affairs, we found his Mozambican passport, which expires in 2027.

“However, this does not give him the right to be here,” said Mthombeni.

“The individual entered the country illegally in 2022 and there is evidence of his movement. He left the country in the same 2022, but returned and hasn’t left South Africa since.

“We are also looking into witnesses linked to the landlord to ensure they are not compromised as we prepare to take the matter to court.”

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Family are still waiting for police report

However, the family say they have yet to receive a report from the investigating officer or the police.

“We are waiting for the police or the investigating officer to inform us. All the information we have so far is from social media or the news. They should have informed us by now,” Samane said.

Simiao allegedly lured the girl to his house on Monday evening. She was found dead in a shack after being reported missing.

The suspect fled the scene, sparking a three-day manhunt. Community member Nosipho Zulu said the local community and taxi associations had been working with police to gather intelligence.

“We were assisted by a few Mozambican guys to gather information on his whereabouts, which we passed on to the police. At least now he is behind bars. The pain we felt when we heard of this is why we were restless.”

Mthombeni said the suspect would appear in the Protea Magistrates Court today.