13-year-old Gabisile Shabani, an albino who was forcefully kidnapped from her grandmother’s house at gun point by three men on January 28, alongside her 15-month-old nephew, Nkosikhona Welcome Ngwenya, was found murdered 24 days after they were kidnapped.
Speaking to newsmen, Shabani’s mother told TimesLIVE that her daughter who was abducted by people she suspects are not South African nationals because of their accent when they spoke English, said Gabisile was taken because she was an albino.
According to her, Gabisile whose body was recovered at Cullinan in the bushes, was kidnapped alongside the toddler who was mistaken for another toddler who suffered from albinism while still in the house at the time.
Nkosikhona’s body was retrieved by police divers from the Zaalkap River, on the N4 Highway en route to Pretoria on Wednesday morning.
Though the motives of the kidnappers could not be ascertained, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi police provincial spokesperson who couldn’t confirm whether any of the two bodies had been mutilated, said the bodies were in a ‘bad state’.
He further disclosed that a 32-year-old suspect identified as Thokosani Msibi has been arrested, and has already made his first appearance in the Magistrate court in Nelspruit in relation to the murders.
“A postmortem needs to be conducted to determine the cause of death and DNA tests to also confirm it is them.
He was remanded in custody pending a bail application which is scheduled for February 26 2018. The investigation regarding further suspects is underway.
“We spoke to the community members and told them that destroying the house will amount to destroying evidence” said Hlathi.
As news of the news of the suspect’s arrest and the discovery of the children’s bodies has gone viral‚ community members have mobilized support for the late kids’ family and also arranged a protest in the courthouse during Msibi’s next appearance.
