Byline: Thendo Funyufunyu
Monday, 28 August 2023
A 28-year-old woman has been detained on suspicion of killing her 7-month-old daughter in a shack fire.
The horrifying tragedy happened on Sunday, 27 August 2023, at around 3:00 am in Vosman, close to Witbank.
According to a police reports, the received an alert together with emergency personnel about a burning shack at Extension 16 at Marikana.
When authorities arrived at the scene of the crime, they discovered a group of individuals who were horrified by the tragedy of an infant killed in the fire.
According to the police preliminary findings, the mother of the child and her husband had a heated dispute before it got violent.
The husband subsequently left the property, and it was at this point that she is believed to have set the shack on fire. Despite the fact that she was rescued from the roaring flames by some indignant bystanders.
They even attempted to enforce the law themselves before the police intervened and saved her.
Additionally, there were some claims that she was intoxicated in some way at the time of the occurrence; nonetheless, the claims will be investigated.
It is alleged that the residents saw the fire and shouted for help, that is the time the woman was saved, but tragically, after the fire was put out, the tiny, charred bones of the infant were discovered in the wreckage.
Police detained the woman for murder after conducting their inquiries.
On Tuesday, 29 August 2023, the female suspect will appear before the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court to answer to the aforementioned allegations.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has strongly condemned the incident and labeled it as heartless and uncalled for.
“It is the responsibility of parents to protect children rather than to use them as either weapons or shields during fights. We really urge community members to seek for professional help from social workers when they are confronted with social challenges but never to resort into violence at the expense of children, ” said the General.
