Police in Mankweng, under the Capricorn District of Limpopo, have arrested a 20-year-old woman in connection with a murder and attempted murder incident.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, provincial police spokesperson in Limpopo said the arrest follows incidents which happened at Moremadi Park on Wednesday evening.
“Police received a complaint about the incident at a residential area and rushed to the scene. Upon arrival, police found a male foreign national who pointed out a three-year-old child who was lying on the bed with a severe wound on the upper body,” said Ledwaba.
Emergency medical services (EMS) officials arrived at the scene and the child was certified dead.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that a 20-year-old woman who is the suspect in these cases was fighting with a 24-year-old mother of the child who is the wife of the male foreign national who called police.
“During the fight, the suspect who is also alleged to be the girlfriend of a foreign male national hit the three-year-old baby with a spade that led to her untimely death,” said Ledwaba.
Moments later, police said the 20-year-old woman additionally attacked the mother of the three-year-old child by pouring boiling water over her.
The mother of the murdered child sustained “severe” burn wounds on her body and she was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.
Police said the 20-year-old woman was arrested at the crime scene, is expected to appear before the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court on Friday, facing charges of murder and attempted murder.
Earlier this year, IOL reported that then-police minister Bheki Cele expressed concern about the spike in the murder rate in the country, with 7,710 people brutally killed between October and December 2023.
Cele said this was an increase of 2.1% compared to the same period of 2022.
IOL