Gabisile Shabane’s headless body was found buried in a shallow grave in Cullinan, east of Pretoria, in the third week of February.
The body of Gabisile Shabane, the 13-year-old girl with albinism who was kidnapped with another child from their home in Hlalanikahle in Mpumalanga in January, has finally been identified though DNA tests, her mother Annah Shabane said on Wednesday.
Shabane was speaking outside the Witbank Magistrate’s Court shortly after traditional healer Thokozani Msibi, as well as Brilliant Mkhize, Themba Thubane and Knowledge Mhlanga appeared in connection with the kidnapping and murder of the children. She said arrangements for the funeral was under way.
“I thank you for your support from day one. I hope we will have your support again for the funeral to go well,” said Shabane while addressing a crowd of about 500 people.
Gabisile and 15-month-old Nkosikhona Ngwenya were kidnapped from their home on January 28, allegedly by three men who entered the house through a broken window.
Gabisile’s headless body was found buried in a shallow grave in Cullinan, east of Pretoria, in the third week of February. Nkosikhona’s body was found on the side of the N4 freeway in Mpumalanga in the same week.
State prosecutor Fani Mavundla told the court in April that Gabisile was forced to drink brake fluid mixed with beer and to smoke marijuana shortly before her murder.
In August, provincial spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority Monica Nyuswa told the African News Agency that Gabisile’s DNA test process would take long because her body was contaminated with brake fluid.
All the accused were previously denied bail and the case was today postponed for trial to August 19 next year in the Delmas High Court. The Ciziten.
