Father killed ‘crying’ infant

Guilty of murdering his 14-month-old baby

A KHAYELITSHA father, Ntuthuzelo Mayekiso, has been found guilty of murdering his “crying” 14-month-old baby girl, Lindokuhle Kota.

Lindokuhle’s mother, Bukelwa, had in May last year allowed Mayekiso to spend time with his daughter, and had her in his care for a few days.

According to court documents, Mayekiso, his mother and Lindokuhle were at home when Lindokuhle would not stop crying.

Mayekiso told his mother Lindokuhle had fallen when he attempted to cut her hair.

His mother comforted Lindokuhle for a while before giving her back to Mayekiso.

“The baby carried on crying and the accused’s mother called for the accused to bring the baby to her, but the accused ignored her.

“The accused’s mother fell asleep in her room, as she was tired.

“The accused’s brother, Ndumiso Mayekiso, was not at home earlier in the night.

He arrived during the night and slept in his room.

“He heard the baby crying non-stop in the accused’s room,” the indictment read.

Later that night, Mayekiso took Lindokuhle into his mother’s room, saying she had again fallen in his room.

His mother then asked a neighbour to take them to the Khayelitsha Day Hospital, where Lindokuhle was announced dead on arrival.

Dr Bronwyn Inglis conducted the post-mortem and noticed several internal and external injuries on Lindokuhle.

The cause of death was unnatural blunt force to the head and neck.

Mayekiso was previously convicted of murder in 2005, at the age of 13, and served a sentence at a reformatory school.

Sentencing proceedings against the 25-year-old are expected to begin on October 8.

Meanwhile, sentencing proceedings are expected to start today for convicted murderer Diego Novella, found guilty of murdering his marketing executive girlfriend Gabriela Kabrins Alban in their Camp’s Bay hotel room in July 2015.

Alban was killed by strangulation and had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head, forensics found.

When police arrived, they found that chips had been scattered over her body.

Novella left a note with the derogatory Spanish word “cerote”, which means “piece of s***”.

Once Novella had committed the murder, he went down to the beach and, on his return to the hotel, a

staff member asked him how his “lovely lady” was doing, to which he responded:

“My lovely lady is dead.”

Tracey Adams African News Agency (ANA) The SA National Zakáh Fund delivered winter packs, food and treats to pupils of Morgenster Primary School in Hanover Park as part of the Sanzaf Operation Winter Warmth campaign. Grade R pupil Aaiesha Sellars, 5, struggles to get her arm into her jacket which is one of the items in the pack. Fawaaz Bester, 6, and Sameer Petersen, 6, try on the new clothing they received in their packs.