Soweto demands justice as cops hunt for murderer/rapist of girl aged six

Residents held two people they suspected but police confirmed they were not connected to the crime

Soweto residents are demanding justice and the arrest of a suspect after the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, Amantle Samane,  on Monday. 

Residents took to the streets on Wednesday morning. In the scorching heat, a group marched to Amantle's family home and then to Orlando police station. 

They are demanding that police arrest a Mozambican man who allegedly disappeared after the brutal incident on Monday. 

A group, mainly women, sang at the police station. Some of the residents held placards saying: “Hang the rapist. Justice for Amantle. She was only six years old. Law without justice is a wound without a cure.”

One of the women, who didn't want to be named, said the incident was painful and she had decided to support Amantle's family. She said children were no longer safe. “This is painful. I don't want to talk about it. This is very emotional,” she said. 

A community member who was among the crowd, Rhulani Hlaisi, said parents were panicking and accused the police of defending the criminals. 

“Our children are not safe here. Very soon we will see him walking freely on the streets here. As South Africans, we have to stand and be one thing,” he said. 

He said police were struggling to find the man they accused. “The way they are operating I don't see the work that they are doing,” he said. 

Gauteng police released a picture of the suspect on Tuesday afternoon.

Lt-Col Mavela Masondo confirmed that eight people who were arrested in the morning were not related to the incident but were arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally. 

“Our detectives have been working tirelessly to find the suspect in this case. For now, we can confirm that the same person who offered to assist in the investigation is our suspect,” he said. 

He added that the suspect is the only person they are looking for in the matter.

“There were eight people arrested, so there was confusion, but we want to make it clear that the eight are not linked to this case as they were arrested as illegal immigrants,” he said. 

Masondo said earlier on Wednesday there was a person the community had arrested who they alleged was related to the suspect. But after questioning him it was confirmed he was not related to the suspect.

“We also received a call saying a person was being held at the local clinic. But after investigating we established he was not the suspect,” he said.

He added that the two people who were arrested by the community were being held for being illegals in the country. Masondo said the police were  communicating with the Mozambican authorities to see if they could help them locate the suspect. 

“The only thing we can say about the suspect is that he was here in South Africa. We have his passport, which has expired, which means he was here illegally,” he said. 

Masondo appealed to residents to give the police space to investigate the case and to refrain from activities that could compromise the case.

Masondo said if community members apprehended a suspect, they should take him to the police. 

TimesLIVE