Bokgabo Poo's suspected killer to appear in court on Monday

A 30-year-old man is expected to appear  in the Benoni magistrate’s court today on charges of kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Bokgabo Poo. 

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said on Saturday the family of Bokgabo positively identified the mutilated body police found on Tuesday as that of their missing daughter. Masondo said a case of murder was opened after the discovery of the body.

“A team consisting of seasoned police officers from the family violence, child protection, and sexual offences unit, forensic experts, occult-related crimes unit and local detectives was formed to prioritise and investigate the case,” said Masondo.  

Bokgabo was reported missing last week Monday and her disappearance led to a week-long community search for the girl. On Tuesday, a mutilated body was found in Tamboville, near Benoni, on the East Rand.

This was after a 63-year-old woman who was sweeping her yard found toes and later discovered a leg buried in a shallow grave. At that time Bokgabo’s parents could not identify the body as it was badly decomposed and burnt.

Bokgabo’s father, Irvin Ndlovu, and mother Tsholofelo Poo did DNA tests on Wednesday to determine whether the body was of their daughter. Ndlovu told Sowetan on Sunday that the family was called by the forensic team on Saturday to identity the body.

“'We went to the mortuary and we managed to identify her. The birthmark on her chest and her missing tooth helped us to identify her,” said Ndlovu. He said the family was devastated by her passing.

“We are heartbroken and going through a lot of trauma right now. We did not expect that the body police found on Tuesday would be our child,” he said. 

On Friday, police arrested the man who was last seen with Bokgabo when she disappeared on Monday afternoon.  At the time, Masondo said the suspect was arrested on Friday morning in Boksburg, on the East Rand, after he was spotted in the area by a member of the community, who then called the police. The suspect was taken in for questioning.

He was seen in a CCTV video walking alongside Bokgabo on Mdaka Street in Wattville, Ekurhuleni, on the day she disappeared.  In the footage, which Sowetan has seen, Bokgabo is walking from a shop on Mdaka Street and is talking to an unidentified man. They then disappear.

Poo said Bokgabo’s six-year-old friend told them that while they were playing, a man approached them and gave him R2 and sent him to go buy two lollipops. He took the money and went leaving Bokgabo with the unknown man. When he returned, they were both gone.

Poo said Bokgabo was wearing a purple vest, orange shorts and red and white flip flops. Masondo said provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela commended police and the community for helping in the search for missing Bokgabo and collection of evidence which led to the arrest of the suspect.

“The provincial commissioner commends the police team and community members for working together around the clock to search for the missing child and for the collection of evidence that led to the arrest of the suspect. The provincial commissioner conveys condolences to the parents and family of Bokgabo Poo,” said Masondo.

kokam@sowetan.co.za