Pretoria - Advocate Silas Nobela of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is confident the state could start its trial against murder and rape accused Amos Maluleke.
He appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Nobela said investigations were complete.
The NPA could transfer the case to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, he added.
Last month, Nobela successfully convinced magistrate Shana Hitchcock to can Maluleke’s bail bid.
The family of Hlayisani Baloyi, aged 8, who Maluleke is accused of raping and murdering, community members and members of the Atteridgeville branch of the ANC Women’s League were in court.
They were joined by the alleg-
ed victim’s principal, Mashudu Mulaudzi of the N’wa-Mhinga Primary School.
Maluleke was told to return to the Atteridgeville court on July 10 to learn if the case would be transferred to the high court.
The boy’s grandmother, Easter Baloyi, said the family was still devastated by what had happened.
She was comforted by representatives of Atteridgeville #NotInMyName activists.
READ: Missing boy, 8, found raped, killed
Its spokesperson Phathuxolo Nofoto said: “We would like for the case to be heard here in Atteridgeville because the community follows it. However, the important thing is for the trial to start as soon as next month.”
Nofoto said #NotInMyName and the community were confident the State could achieve prosecution because Maluleke had previous convictions for rape and robbery.
He said a conviction could, in fact, send a message that crime
had no home in Atteridgeville.
“To avoid similar crimes in our area, we have started to engage parents; taught them to better protect their children from such crimes. They need to know where their children are at all times.”
Maluleke is alleged to have used a lollipop to lure the boy to his Atteridgeville home. He is accused of raping the boy before suffocating him with a pillow.
The boy’s body was found dumped near a shack in Saulsville by angry community members who had been searching for the child.
His neck had been twisted and his pants covered in blood. His shoes were also missing.
ANC Women’s League deputy chairperson in the area Catherine Meyers said they supported the family because they believed that Maluleke raped the child and dumped his body “as if he was an animal”.