Kimberley - Community members from Phuthanang crowded the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court in Kimberley on Monday morning when a local sangoma and two men, accused of the abduction of missing five-year-old Keitumetse Magwadibane, appeared in the dock.
Keitumetse has been missing for almost two weeks already after she disappeared while on her way to a local tuck shop with a friend.
The city-wide search for the little girl continues and the entire community has joined forces, some assisting in the door-to-door search while others have been offering up prayers for her safe return.
The three accused, Nora Mazibuko, who is said to be a sangoma, Maruping Kgwabane and Clarence Mkhonto, were arrested on Friday after a pair of tracksuit pants, believed to belong to Keitumetse, were apparently found inside Mazibuko’s house.
Community members filled the public gallery in the court yesterday and became visibly distressed when the accused entered the dock.
They expressed their disgust and said the accused should not be granted bail.
The court orderly had to warn the members of the public several times to be silent during court proceedings.
Kgwabane told the court that he was assaulted and hit in his ribs and private parts during his arrest by members of Wanya Tsotsi, a local crime-fighting group who are leading the search together with the police. The court ordered that Kgwabane be taken for medical treatment.
Another suspect, Joseph Mgobo, also appeared in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court on Friday last week in connection with the matter.
Mgobo was arrested and charged with kidnapping after a neighbour apparently reported hearing a child crying in his shanty.
The case was postponed until August for the formal bail application of all four accused.
They will remain in custody.
Tensions flared last Friday when community members wanted to burn down Mazibuko’s house as well as her daughter’s shanty.
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