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Accused of killing four of his children, a 44-year-old father appears in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. A sense of calm on his face, despite the charges he is facing.
On September 3, the Durban father fetched three of his children from school. The children, who were 10, 6 and 4 years old were taken home, before being hung. Following their deaths, he went to fetch his 16-year-old stepdaughter from school and strangled her to death.
Appearing in court on October 9, an additional charge of rape has been added to his case. However, it is unrelated to the murder of the four children.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) claims the incident allegedly occurred mere days before he allegedly took his children lives.
With the courtroom full, the police exercised crowd control to ensure the proceedings did not get out of hand. A number of political parties took advantage of the situation and were among those searching for front row seats.
The DA, ANC, EFF and IFP all took centre stage after the court hearing to voice their concerns about violence against women and children.
Facing charges of murder and now rape, the accused father is yet to plead against the rape charge. However, he has said will not be applying for his release on bail.
The court case has been postponed until November 7, pending further investigations into the matter.
