IT was a bittersweet moment at the Tshwane Central Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 14 June, when a 31-year-old man appeared for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Itumeleng Makhura (31), and their daughter Tshepang Makhura (11).
After being on the run since the incident in March, he handed himself over to Lebowakgomo police in Limpopo on Monday, 13 June.
He made a brief appearance for a bail application where he was facing charges of murder and rape.
The case was postponed to 21 June.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, the information they had was that the victims were choked to death and the child was raped. Circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Dineo Sibanyoni (29) said Itumeleng was last seen with the man at a local tavern. They were told that in the early hours of that Saturday, they left and proceeded to his place.
She said family members were surprised when they heard this because the two had broken up and Itumeleng was seeing someone else.
“We got worried when she didn’t come back home on Saturday and her phone was off. Then on Sunday, we went to look for her at the suspect’s place. But their daughter told us she would go first, and that was last time we saw her alive,” she said.
Dineo said that when it started getting late, their worries intensified. They then went with Itumeleng’s mother to hear what was going on. And when they arrived, they found the man at the gate with a bag.
“He looked like he was in a hurry and when we asked where Itumeleng and Tshepang were, he told us they were inside, sleeping. We went into the yard and he fled, leaving us there.”
She said they rushed to the shack but it was locked, and they knocked but no one answered.
“When we looked through the window, we saw Tshepang laying motionless on the bed. We broke the door and found her with foam in her mouth. Then we searched for Itumeleng, whose body was decomposed under the bed,” she said.
Itumeleng’s mother Flora Makhura (53) said she had not been able to sleep since the death of her daughter as well as her granddaughter. She said she had been trying to understand why the suspect would kill and rape his own child before also killing her.
“I have so many regrets on how things happened. I should not have allowed Tshepang to go look for her mother. He deserves to be locked away for good.”
