Suspect arrested for murder of Taung girl, 4

The girl was found murdered on Sunday in Kgomotso village, Taung, after her mother allegedly left her at a friend’s home while going out to a local tavern.

RUSTENBURG, May 21 (ANA) – A 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl in Taung, North West police said on Friday.

Spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Amanda Funani said the man was arrested on Thursday at his home in Jan Kempdorp in the Northern Cape.

His arrest came after Tshimologo Lotshabeng was reported missing. Her naked body and clothes were found in the bushes on Sunday at Kgomotso village, near Taung.

“It is alleged that the suspect is a colleague and one of the people who accompanied Tshimologo’s mother from the tavern to her friend’s house where she slept. The suspect allegedly waited for the mother to fall asleep, then kidnapped the child and took her to the nearby bushes, where he raped and killed her,” she said.

The man was expected to appear in the Kgomotso Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

“Investigation into the matter, including the possibility of charging the mother, is under way,” she said.

The mother, 32, reportedly took her daughter to her friend’s place, where she allegedly left her with six other children and went to a local tavern.

She allegedly came back drunk in the early hours of Saturday morning, May 15, accompanied by two friends.

She found the children sleeping, and she too slept in her friend’s room.

When she woke up in the morning, she realised that the girl was missing. She went to her residential place to look for the girl, but did not find her.

The girl was reported missing and a search was conducted in the area when her body was found.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher