A Mozambican man, who had allegedly killed an eight-year-old girl and removed some of her body parts, appeared in the Giyani Magistrate’s Court last week.

Before his court appearance, the suspect first had to recover in the Khesani Hospital, after residents from Mphagani village outside Giyani had attacked him.

It is alleged that the 30-year-old man had kidnapped the girl from her home in Phangani and dragged her to the nearby bushes. There he allegedly raped her repeatedly and then killed her. It is further alleged that he then took the body to his home, where he wrapped it in a blanket. The suspect went off on a drinking spree where he was accosted by community members who had heard about the murder. The suspect was severely beaten and his life was only saved when the local police arrived at the scene.

Police spokesperson Thomas Makhubele said the MW Makhubele police station had opened a case of murder. Makhubele said the police were waiting for the results of the post mortem on the little girl to find out whether she had been raped before she was killed.

The murdered girl’s mother, Nelly Ngoveni, accused the local headman of indiscriminately allowing strangers to settle in the village without checking their credentials properly. Ms Ngoveni said she was unemployed and received a social grant to look after the little girl. “I don’t how I am going to bury her, because I don’t have even a single cent,” said Ngoveni.

A community member, Daniel Chauke, said they would meet with the local headman, with the aim of asking him to supply reasons why strangers are allowed to settle in the village. He mentioned that last year another stranger had killed a local magistrate. “If we don’t stand up as community, we are going to be killed,” said Chauke.

The mayor of the Greater Giyani Municipality, Masingita Mathebula, severely criticized the manner in which the community conducted themselves after the accident. She urged the community not to victimize Mozambicans and rather to let the law run its course. She also promised to hold a community meeting to discuss the issue of crime in the area.

The court case was postponed to 23 April for further investigation and the suspect will remain in custody.