Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
A mum has appeared in court charged with her six-year-old daughter’s death after telling cops the youngster was kidnapped when she was found dead in a field this week.
Fungai Nyamadzawo, 42, claimed that her daughter, Alexia, had been snatched from her car when she slowed down to go over a speed bump.
She had told investigators that she had been driving with her two children at the time, the other one being 14 but not named in reports.
The incident took place in Shayamoya in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, on the eastern coast.
Investigators began looking into the matter but they quickly narrowed down the mother as a suspect and she has now been detained. She appeared before Umhlali Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Wed) charged with murder, kidnapping, defeating the ends of justice and perjury.
Brigadier Jay Naicker told local media that she has been remanded in custody pending a bail hearing on 10th June.
On Tuesday, police officers with a K9 unit, as well as a search and rescue team, recovered little Alexia’s body.
The young girl, who was Zimbabwean, according to local media, was found dead in a sugarcane field on Tuesday.
Brigadier Jay Naicker is quoted in local media as sying: “Detectives enlisted the services of the Umhlali Search and Rescue Unit to assist in the search for the missing girl. Following an arduous operation, the body of the missing child was located in a sugarcane field in Riet Valley.”
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khombonkisi Jula, meanwhile, said: “We treat all crimes against women and children very seriously and were extremely concerned when allegations of kidnapping surfaced. We are disappointed that we could not find the missing girl alive, however, we will do everything that is within our control to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to book.”
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