The South African Police Service has confirmed the arrest of a 28 year old man for allegedly raping and killing a 6 year old girl at Dark City, Praktiseer outside Burgersfort, Mpumalanga, on Friday, 03 December 2021.

According to the SAPS, the young girl was playing with other children in the neighborhood when her mother noticed that she had disappeared and started to search for her with assistance from the community.

“The Police were called and proceeded with the search operation. The child’s body was then discovered dumped in a neighbour’s yard,” the SAPS said.

“The police immediately commenced with the manhunt for the suspect who was said to be residing in the same street as the victim. He was found hiding in one of the neighbour’s yard and immediately arrested. Police preliminary investigations conducted at [the] scene suggest that the victim was raped before she was killed,” added the SAPS.

The Suspect was set to appear at a local court today. Gender Based Violence cases seem to be on the rise heading into the festive season with other harrowing cases reported over the weekend.

According to the SAPS, Free State Police attended to three scenes where three women including a child were allegedly killed by boyfriends in separate incidents reported in Qwaqwa and Bethlehem over the weekend.

On Friday, the body of a 31-year-old woman was discovered lying inside a shack with a fatal stab wound covered with a blanket. On Saturday, 05 December 2021, Police in Qwaqwa and emergency services responded to a scene where the bodies of a male and female 25 and 22 years old respectively including a 9-year-old girl were found in a house with fatal gunshot wounds and a firearm on the floor. “It is alleged that the boyfriend was from Makwane Village and arrived at the house in Phamong where he allegedly shot and fatally wounded the girlfriend (22), Child (9) and himself (25),” the SAPS added.

Another incident occurred on the same day when Phuthaditjhaba Police were called to Mphatlalatsane Village where the body of a 28-year-old woman was found inside a house with fatal injuries after being allegedly assaulted with a stick by her boyfriend who is reportedly on the run.

No arrests have been reported in all three cases, however, investigations are ongoing with police seeking assistance from communities.