A 31-year-old man, Sipho Tony Nkosi, is currently facing trial after slitting the throat of his girlfriend’s 8-year-old daughter.
It’s said that Nkosi and the minor’s mum, who were in a romantic relationship, had an argument while attending a funeral recently. He, however, visited her house the next day in an attempt to work things out.
He met the 8-year-old in the house with her grandmother, and the mother, Nkosi, had gone to a car wash.
Nkosi allegedly took a butcher’s knife from the kitchen and slit the child’s throat.
Neighbors came to the 8-year-old’s rescue when they heard loud screaming from the home. She was rushed to Mamelodi Hospital, where she’s currently receiving treatment.
“It is alleged that on April 24, the couple had gone to a funeral where an argument broke out between them. The following day, while the mother had gone to a nearby car wash, the accused went to a house where she stayed to try to work things out.” The police said.
The accused was arrested after he handed himself over at the Hammanskraal police station.
Yesterday, members of the community, the lobby group, Not In My Name, and other organizations gathered outside the court to express their indignation.
According to the child’s father, the attack occurred while his daughter was visiting her grandmother at Mamelodi East’s Khutsong extension.
The father said his daughter and her younger sister lived with their mother and the accused in Montana.
He said the accused and the mother had an argument when the mother asked the man to leave. He reportedly refused.
“He then resorted to slitting my daughter’s throat in retaliation towards the mother. He went into the grandparents’ house and took a knife from the kitchen and slit my child’s throat execution-style. Her mother then called the police when she returned, finding our daughter’s throat was slit,” he said.
The father said the daughter was admitted to the hospital and was now in ICU. “She was stabilised in Mamelodi hospital and transferred to Pretoria East hospital.” he added.
He vowed that he would do everything in his power to make sure Nkosi was denied bail.
“I would like to thank the community and the organisations that came to support us. We hear that there are many cases against him, and the police are investigating those cases. I am happy that the police finally arrested him, as they have been looking for him since 2019 for a gender-based violence case against him. It seems that this is what he likes to do against women and children.” He said.
Themba Masango, of Not In My Name, addressed the crowd outside court, and said that when a child was victimised it affected everyone.
“We must stand together as the community of Mamelodi to make sure that we get rid of these animals on our streets,” he said.
