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'Killer mom' to be observed

THE woman accused of murdering her five children has been sent for mental observation PLUS She's pregnant!

THE woman accused of murdering her five children has been sent for mental observation.

The woman, who is five months pregnant, allegedly forced her children to drink a cocktail of brake fluid and cool drink and then drowned them when she realised they were not dying quickly.

She failed in an attempt to kill herself.

She appeared in the Pampierstad Magistrate's Court.

Magistrate Brits yesterday ordered that Siwa be sent to a mental institution for 30 days for psychiatric evaluation.

Siwa, 33, of Lower Majeakgoro village in Pampierstad, allegedly killed her five children - Sizwe, 13, Lukanyo, 10, Edward, 5, Reatlegile, 4, and Matiki, 2.

The incident happened on October 17 at her grandmother's house in the same area.

It is alleged Siwa fetched two of the children - Edward and Lukanyo - from Matlhare Moholo Primary School before time and took them to her home where the other three were waiting.

Before she left home, she had asked her nephew to fill up the bath tub.

She pretended she was going to do laundry when she came back.

She then returned with the other children and gave all them the concoction.

She had locked all the doors of the house so that other people, including her nephew, could not see what was happening inside.

When the children were not dying quickly, she allegedly drowned them in the bath tub.

She also drank the concoction and then ran to a nearby river were she tried to commit suicide.

No one knows what could have prompted her to commit such an act.

According to a report compiled by West End Hospital in Kimberley, Siwa was unable to engage in a coherent conversation.

"She was in anxious mood, feeling threatened. She related content of auditory hallucinations and voiced fragments of delusions. She appears not to understand her situation or charges against her," her lawyer, advocate Nzame Skibi, read the report in court.

Siwa was diagnosed with "acute psychosis".

Skibi had earlier told the court that Siwa was unable to follow court proceedings so as to make a proper defence.

"It was possible that she was in a similar condition at the time of the alleged offence and that she could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her action at the time," said Skibi.

Magistrate Jan Brits postponed the case until December 28.

He gave Siwa 30 days for further evaluation.

"I agree with your advocate. I am sending you to the mental institution to check your mental stability," said Brits .

According to a police report, a family member went to the house and found the bodies of the five children - two on the bed and three lying on the floor. Their clothes were still wet.

The children's father, Israel Lesimola, said his heart was still aching.

"I do not want to talk about this issue, they were my children," he said.

"I miss them. I also want to know what pushed her (Kelebogile) to kill them." he said outside court.

Siwa's sister, who did not want to be named, said she felt sorry for her.

"She must be taken out of jail because she is five months pregnant, she will not cope."

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