'Amantle wished to become a nurse when she was older’

Murder victim (6) was full of joy, says grieving mom

Six-year-old Amantle Samane was just a month away from her preschool graduation, and excitement was mounting at home ahead of the photoshoot session that was to take place on Tuesday this week. 

However, the Soweto child will not be attending the photoshoot or graduate after a stranger took her by the hand as she was sitting in front of her home, led her to his shack, where he raped and killed her on Monday.

Speaking to Sowetan, her mother Ntombizodwa Samane recalled that just hours before her child went missing on Monday, she had ironed her graduation gown, preparing it for the photoshoot.

At the time, she didn’t know her daughter would never wear it. 

"It would have been better if she had died by some sort of sickness, then I would have had her in my arms soothing her. But this... no child should go through this.," she said.

On Monday afternoon, Amantle was playing on the street with other children when Samane quickly went to the shops.

"When I came back, I found her still playing. I then decided that since they were going to do the photoshoot for the graduation, I might as well iron the gown in the meantime. But when I went back to check on her, she was nowhere to be seen,” Samane said.

She said it was around 5pm at the time.

“I asked the children who were playing with her where she was but they said they didn’t see her leave. I went to the houses of other children in the neighborhood, but they also said they hadn’t seen her. At some point, I circled back to her grandmother’s house because I thought maybe, while I was looking for her, I had missed her coming home. But she wasn’t there.

“It was starting to get dark and cold, and her older sibling was helping me look for her. Just when I suggested we head back to get jerseys, a boy from the neighborhood came to me and said he had found her.

"I didn’t know how to feel because I asked, ‘Found her? What is wrong? Where did you find her?’” she recalled.

Samane said the boy explained that he had seen Amantle walking with a man, later identified by the police as Mozambican national Pethe Sara Simiao.

It would have been better if she had died by some sort of sickness, then I would have had her in my arms soothing her.Amantle's mother Ntombizodwa Samane

“He said when he asked where Pethe was going with Amantle, he told him to mind his own business.

"It seems like the boy knew something was wrong because after a while, he went to the man’s place. And as he was walking into the yard, Pethe was walking out. The boy saw Amantle in a room and called for help."

Samane recalled the state she found Amantle in after arriving at the scene: “She was covered with a blanket. I removed it and saw her shorts were only on one leg, so I put them on properly. I asked someone to get water so that I can pour it over her face to wake her up. But nothing happened.

"I carried her in my arms and noticed the marks around her neck... I was in deep pain seeing those strangulation marks."

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said Simiao is still at large, but that they have reached out to other Mozambican nationals in the area and Interpol for assistance.

"We can now confirm that the person we were seeking is the main suspect, as he was the last person seen with the child. We have his name and photo, and we know he is a Mozambican national. He is still at large," Masondo said.

Simiao, known for his welding work in the community, was described by his landlord Thabo Kekana as someone who kept to himself.

"He had only been living here for four months, so I didn’t really know much about him. All I knew was that he was always working, coming in and out of the yard,” Kekana said.

He added that Simiao was rarely seen with anyone at his rented backroom.

"At some point, he brought a woman and a child but they left about two weeks ago. I haven’t seen them since. He is a quiet guy and kept to himself; he only left the house for work. I thought he was a good guy, but I was shocked when a boy knocked on my door asking for the key to the shack because a child was missing," Kekana said.

"When I opened the door of the backroom, the child was there. I was completely shocked. I didn’t hear any screaming or even see him come home with the child because at the time I had gone out,” he said.

Samane described her daughter as someone who was full of joy.

"She was always everywhere, when she entered our home, everyone would know she is there. My daughter wanted to be a nurse... that dream was taken away from her." 

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