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Missing kids found dead

December 04, 2016. Rosina Shoka holds a photograph of her son Petrus, who was found murdered in Thokgoaneng village in Limpopo. Pic: Zoë Mahopo. © Sowetan
December 04, 2016. Rosina Shoka holds a photograph of her son Petrus, who was found murdered in Thokgoaneng village in Limpopo. Pic: Zoë Mahopo. © Sowetan

Rosina Shoka could barely keep her eyes open after days of crying over her seven-year-old son who went missing and was eventually found dead.

Shoka's son Petrus is one of two boys whose bodies were discovered floating in a dam in Thokgoaneng village, Limpopo, last week.

The incident took place just days after President Jacob Zuma launched the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, meant to fight the scourge of abuse against vulnerable groups.

Four suspects, including three sangomas, are expected to appear in the Thabamoopo Magistrate's Court in Lebowakgomo today in connection with the murders.

Petrus and his friend Samuel Ngobeni, 10, vanished while playing in the area on Monday and were found dead with head injuries on Thursday evening.

On Saturday, Shoka described her grief the moment she saw the dead children in the water.

Shoka, 41, said they received a phone call from locals who saw the bodies of the children in the water.

"When we got there we realised it was them. Their heads were bloated. Blood was flowing from their eyes and noses. No one knows what happened to those children," she said.

Shoka said she became suspicious on Monday when Petrus did not come back home to watch his favourite TV drama and decided to search for him with other residents.

She said they went around asking neighbours and searched surrounding bushes at the foot of the hill, hoping the children would be found alive.

"You know what? My heart is broken. Why didn't they take me or his father instead? These are innocent children, they have done nothing wrong," said Shoka.

She described her son as a friendly and outgoing child who was in Grade 2 at the local primary school. Teachers told Shoka that Petrus had passed his exams.

"I'm not even going to fetch his school report. It is of no use."

Petrus's aunt, Maria Shoka, showed Sowetan a soccer ball which he kicked around so much that the cover had begun to peel off.

"I'm angry and hurt. I feel like we failed him. Maybe we didn't search hard enough," Maria said.

Tears flowed down her face as she remembered how she nicknamed the boy "Papa" because he bore her father's name. "As we were looking through the bushes, I kept calling out, 'Papa where are you?'"

Maria said the family wants justice for her nephew's death.

"Those people should never be allowed to come out of jail because they will come and kill other children. As a family, we will not accept those people here," she said.

Provincial police spokesman Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the motive for the killings was not known, but they were investigating the possibility of ritual murders.

He said provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba requested community members and the family to allow authorities space to investigate.

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