By More Matshediso
Johannesburg - Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Lesetja Mothiba has urged parents to always be watchful of their children, especially after dark, to protect them from abuse and murder.
Mothiba said this following the murder of five-year-old Mmadira Selota, whose body was found by community members in Thembisa on Saturday, not far from her home.
“Her mouth had been stuffed… and she was allegedly raped,” Mothiba said.
He said Mmadira had been missing for almost a week, when she went to buy chips at the nearby spaza shop.
“The murder is under investigation by the provincial Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS). No arrests were made. We have taken DNA samples as part of the investigation,” said Mothiba.
He appealed to the Thembisa community to assist police with investigations.
Mall robberies
Mothiba was briefing media on Tuesday in Johannesburg, on the recent spate of mall robberies in the province that affected 11 malls.
He said there were similar incidents of mall robberies in other provinces but Gauteng was the worst.
He said a reward of up to R200 000 will be offered to anyone who could reveal any information that may lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the criminals [for mall robberies and murders].
He added that in all robberies, there were between two and five male suspects. “People with information can contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or SMS 32211 to Crime line.”
Taegrin
Mothiba said investigations were still continuing into the murder of Taegrin Morris of Reiger Park, who was dragged to death during a hijacking of his family car, over a month ago.
“No arrests have been made yet,” said Mothiba.
Mothiba’s Deputy Tebello Mosikili said police have been receiving a lot of information since the opening of Taegrin’s murder case.
“We have been following it up… people have been taken in [for questioning]. The process includes getting the victim or any other witness to do the identification parade,” said Mosikili.
She added that although the information was there, police are still struggling to get anyone who will assist Taegrin’s mother to do the identification parade.
“So far there were five people who were taken in, in different occasions, following an intervention received by police,” Mosikili said.
Police officers arrested
Mathiba said more than 200 police officers have been arrested for various crimes since January this year.
“94 of the officers were dismissed, 76 of them are on suspension and 69 are on suspension without remuneration,” said Mothiba.- SAnews.gov.za
