Residents lose trust in cops
Girl’s murderer is still on the loose
The community of Mahushu near Hazyview, Mpumalanga, where little Nokubonga Nonyane was kidnapped and found murdered last week, have vowed to find the suspect themselves as they accused the police of failing to arrest the perpetrators.
Eight-year-old Nokubonga was kidnapped a fortnight ago. Her body was found by cattle herders near a stream on Tuesday. The Grade 2 pupil was buried yesterday.
On Wednesday, the community burnt down two houses believed to be those of the suspected kidnapper and murderer [of the girl].
“The police are not working; a child goes missing [for] two weeks, found dead and no one has been arrested. This [case] is ours now and we will go out as a community and get the suspect and bring justice ourselves,” said Themba Sambo, a community member.
Nokubonga’s aunt Sarah Nonyane told Sowetan they were disappointed by the police because Nokubonga’s disappearance was not treated as urgent.
“It’s sad that as the family, when we reported the matter to the police they did not treat her disappearance as urgent.
“Only [when] community members came out to search for the girl, they started to give urgency to the case,” she said.
MEC for community safety, security and liaison Pat Ngomane promised to bring the suspect to book.
“It’s sad that there’s no arrest until today, but we promise [that] the people or person responsible for this will be brought to book,” Ngomane said.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi confirmed no one had been arrested, and also asked the community to help search for the suspects.