New investigating team to be assigned to Bokgabo Poo’s case: mother

The police have assigned a new investigating team to probe the murder of Bokgabo Poo, 4, after the Pretoria high court sitting in Benoni acquitted Ntokozo Zikhali of the crime.

This is according to Bokgabo's mother Tsholofelo, who joined a protest by community members at court.

Judge Ian Cox last week acquitted Zikhali of kidnapping, rape, murder and mutilation.

The court is expected to hand down a judgment on Thursday in a second case against Zikhali, the rape of a nine-year-old girl in 2021. He pleaded guilty to this charge.

Tsholofelo Poo told reporters: “We’ve received communication from the commissioner of police to say they will assign new people to investigate the case. We are set to meet this afternoon to discuss what went wrong with the case in investigating.

“I believe we will find justice for Bokgabo, we are prepared to fight.” 

Bokgabo, of Wattville in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, disappeared in October 2022. After an extensive search, her dismembered body was found, with some body parts still missing, in two separate locations.

She was last seen at the Masoleng Park where she was playing with a friend. Grainy CCTV footage depicted her merrily skipping along next to Zikhali.

His acquittal came after the court discovered a DNA report did not link Zikhali to Bokgabo’s murder. Instead, bloodstains on his jeans found discarded in a bin at his home belonged to someone else. He alleged he had been assaulted and forced into a confession by police.

Police also took him on a pointing out exercise, where he showed them four locations for the missing body parts. These turned out to be “negative.”

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