A PASTOR, mother and a relative of the mother are expected to appear in the Nkandla magistrate court on Monday.
This is after cops from Nkandla police station in the north of KZN arrested the three suspects aged between 31 and 35 yesterday at Ezimambeni area for the murder of two nine-year-old girls.
The KZN cops spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbele said cops from Nkandla received a call on 24 March, informing them to come to a house at Ezimambeni because they suspected that something terribly wrong was happening.
Mbele said on arrival cops were greeted with hostility by the family members who did not want their presence and asked who had called them.
"After several questions from the family members police encountered a very gruesome scene. They saw two 9-year-old girls laying on the floor with bruises all over their bodies, one of the girls was already dead and the other was unconscious," said Mbele.
She said the police called the ambulance to the scene.
"Upon arrival the Health Officials certified one girl as dead and the second one was rushed to hospital," said Mbele.
Mbele said when questioning the family members on the girl’s injuries they alleged that the girls were attacked by evil spirits.
"The family further alleged that the young girls had been complaining that the evil spirit were beating them up and instructing them to drink blood," said Mbele.
Mbele said in response to the girls attack by the evil spirits the family also beat up the girls.
"A local pastor was also called to pray for the girls and he also allegedly joined in the beating of the girls," said Mbele.
Mbele said prior to the arrival of the police the family had taken the dead girl to a traditional healer after beating her.
"The traditional healer could not do anything for her because she was already dead and he brought back the body to the family," said Mbele.
Mbele said a few days later the second young girl who was taken to hospital succumbed to her injuries and passed on.
"At that time an inquest docket was opened to be investigated by the detectives. Thorough investigations conducted by the Nkandla Detectives coupled with medical reports pointed to the fact that the young girls were subject severe beatings which was the cause of their death," said Mbele.
Mbele said further investigations also revealed that during year 2015 another girl from the family died under mysterious circumstances and was buried a day after her death without the family informing any authorities.
"It is also suspected the same was going to happen to these young girls because according to the investigations the family had not reported their situation to anybody except for the pastor," said Mbele.
Mbele said subsequent to the findings of the investigations the mother of the children, her relative and pastor were arrested for two counts of murder and will appear at the Nkandla Magistrate Court on Monday, 1 June 2020.
"Investigations are still on going and the Nkandla detectives will also probe the death of the girl in 2015," said Mbele.
