On Father’s Day on Sunday, a man was taken into custody after allegedly hanging his girlfriend’s toddler from a tree at Xholora township in Stutterheim.
It is alleged the boyfriend, 35, who is not being named until he has appeared in court, had lured the little boy, 3, to him on Saturday night with promises of sweets. He took the child from the care of his 13-year-old cousin.
Provincial police spokesperson Lt-Col Siphokazi Mawisa said the mother reported the matter to the police when the child went missing.
Police found the little body hanging from a tree a few hours later. The boyfriend, a taxi driver, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday. He is due to appear in the Stutterheim magistrate’s court on Tuesday to face a charge of murder.
“Circumstances surrounding the incident form part of the investigation,” Mawisa said.
Ward councillor Nicholas Ncevu said the boyfriend had apparently confessed to the deed.
“It was easy to find him because he was the last person to be seen with the child.
“He took him saying he was going to buy him sweets.
“On the night [that the child died], police caught him roaming around the area.
“It is said that when he took the child, there were no signs of anger or anything.
“He confessed to the murder but we couldn’t understand how someone could do such a horrible thing,” Ncevu said.
A relative said the family was in deep shock and struggling to come to terms with the little boy’s death.
“He was technically a father to him — he loved him,” said the family member, adding no one could understand what had happened.
“Was it just because he had an argument with the mother?“I don’t understand how someone could involve a child in something like that.
“He was living with them from when the child was two months old. “He took the child as his.
“Even here at home we had a good relationship with him because we could see how he treated the little boy.”
The relative said the 13-year-old cousin might need counselling.
“Everything has been tense. The 13-year-old is my child — they were very close and he hasn’t spoken a word since this happened.
“There’s another girl here who used to spend a lot of time with the little boy. “She hasn’t been coping here at home.“And the mother is not OK also.
“I think some sort of counselling is needed.”
On Monday afternoon, Amahlathi mayor Nomakhosazana Nongqayi and community members visited the family.
“The family is really in pain. We are also in shock as a community,” she said.
“You know, when a child dies, a parent fears that the blame may be put on them even though they have not done anything wrong.
“The family is really broken.”
Community activist Petros Majola, who also visited the family, urged provincial social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta to offer the help of social workers to assist the family.
The mayor could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
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