Child murder case transferred to high court for possible guilty plea

After abandoning his bail bid twice and confessing to killing his partner’s six-year-old son, Sfundo Yekani will return to court next month to determine the way forward in his murder case.

Yekani, 33, made startling revelations during his formal bail application two weeks ago in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court and admitted to killing Thabang Klaas out of spite when he could not find the little boy’s mother, Nandipa.

At the time of his bail application and under cross-examination by prosecutor Vuyina Skio, Yekani confessed that on July 23 he had gone to the New Brighton home of Thabang’s grandmother with the intention to kill his ex-girlfriend.

Unable to find Nandipa, Yekani told the grandmother he wanted to take Thabang to a nearby shop.

After buying Thabang a packet of potato crisps, Yekani walked with him to a nearby bushy area and killed him.

Yekani handed himself over to the police two days later and showed them where Thabang’s body was hidden in bushes between Wells Estate and Swartkops.

A postmortem report revealed that he had been strangled. It is understood that Yekani, who faces a charged of premeditated murder, was advised to consult with his Legal Aid SA attorney to discuss entering a guilty plea.

Yekani allegedly made a full confession to police after his arrest and cellphone records show SMSes sent to friends and relatives in which he states why he committed the crime.

Yekani and Nandipa were in a romantic relationship, but after their break-up Yekani allegedly became violent towards her, threatened her and followed her around.

He is expected to appear in the Gqeberha high court on October 7.