Sarah Evans
A mother has been arrested after a relative found the bodies of the woman’s five children in a locked house in Pampierstad, Northern Cape, earlier this week.
A male relative, still reeling from the gruesome sight, said: “All I remember is blood on the floor, and the children looked swollen. I didn’t see if the blood was coming from all the children or just one of them – I had to look away. I was in a state of shock. I didn’t want to look at the scene.”
It is believed the children were killed on Monday at their grandmother’s house, just a few kilometres from their own home in Pampierstad, about 120km from Kimberley.
The relative found the bodies inside their grandmother’s house.
When the young man, believed to be in his early twenties, arrived at the house on Monday evening, he found the place locked up. According to the police, he became suspicious when nobody answered the door, and contacted them.
The young man said one of the children was on the bed and the others on the floor.
Residents said that on the day of the murders, the mother apparently told her partner, Israel Lesimola, that she was going to visit the children’s grandmother.
According to relatives, this was unusual.
Stranger still, the mother took one of the children, five-year-old Edward, out of school at 10am.
Edward was due to have graduated from Grade R at Matlhare-Moholo Primary School tomorrow.
His teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said the mother arrived at the classroom on Monday, and paid money owed to the school for the graduation ceremony.
When she asked to take Edward home, the teacher at first refused because Edward had already missed a lot of schooling.
“He only came to school for two or three days a week. I told his mother I didn’t think it was a good idea for him to go home. I found it very strange that she wanted him to miss another day of school.”
Edward’s teacher broke down during the interview. She said the child was quiet, “coping well”, and his school work was on a par with his peers.
Ten-year-old Lukanyo, who was also found dead, was described by the school’s principal, Clement Modiakgotla, as a promising pupil who was very bright. The child was in Grade 4.
The principal broke the news of the deaths to the staff and pupils yesterday morning, and teachers and pupils alike burst into tears.
The eldest child, 13-year-old Sizwe, was disabled and apparently did not attend school.
The children’s mother had stayed at home to look after Sizwe and the two youngest children, Reatlegile, 4, and “Matiki”, 2.
Northern Cape police said an autopsy would be done.
The mother was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and was due to appear in court today. She cannot be named until she has pleaded to the charges.
The children’s father, Lesimola, lived with the accused and their five children.
He declined to be interviewed.