KESTELL – The 24-year-old man, William Mofokeng of HaNchabeng Village in Qwaqwa accused of rape and murder of a minor in Kestell will remain in custody after he appeared in Kestell Magistrate court on Wednesday, 01 December 2021. The case has been postponed to 21 January 2022 for referral to Regional Court.

The accused was traced at HaNchabeng Village in Qwaqwa, where he was finally arrested following a lengthy search by the police. The team, consisting of the Phuthaditjhaba Family, Child, Protection and Sexual Offences Unit and the Crime Intelligence Unit successfully followed information which led to the arrest of the accused. The body was then recovered in a nearby field and taken to the government mortuary for a post mortem in which resulted in rape and murder case being investigated.

The seven-year-old girl from the Phahameng Section in the Tlholong Township near Kestell, went missing on Saturday 18 September 2021. She was last seen accompanying her friend of the same age and her friend alleged that they met a certain man known to them in the area who gave them five rand and asked her to walk with him. She didn’t return home and the man couldn’t be traced as police and community looked all over for him, even in the vicinity of the graveyard and neighbouring farms where they thought they would find the suspect.

Source: South African Police Service