A 19-year-old man accused of the murder of Gomolemo Legae has requested that he be remanded in custody.
Karabo Bahurutshe allegedly burnt Legae after stabbing her multiple times at Ramosadi village, in Mahikeng.
He faces charges of rape and murder. The courtroom was packed to capacity when he appeared on Wednesday.
Bahurutshe allegedly stabbed his 18-year-old victim multiple times and raped her before dousing her with petrol, apparently while she was still alive.
In court, Bahurutshe asked to be remanded in custody, but gave no reasons why.
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Women, who attended the court proceedings, called for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
“It’s high time that we copy Botswana and bring back (the) death penalty because when will this ever end? As women, we no longer feel safe. We’re always asking ourselves, ‘who is next?’ We really don’t feel free in this country,” says North West Provincial Convener of the African National Congress Young Women’s Desk, Tsotso Tlhapi.
Meanwhile, just eight kilometres away, an hour before Bahurutshe’s court appearance, Legae was being buried.
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The family wants justice.
“This is so bad for me, because my kid did burn. (It’s) so painful and I would like the government to take strong action against these criminals, those who are killing wives and women. They must never give them a chance to go outside jail; let them rot there. They must take serious action for these, because we are so hurt,” says Gomolemo’s father Charles Mashetla.
Legae spent her final hours with friends. They say the accused seemed to have targeted the victim on that fateful day.
“I’m hurt because we knew Karabo. We’d sometimes hang out with him as one of our friends. So, when I heard that he did this, I didn’t believe it. Even that night, he was keeping an eye on Gomolemo, and he would push us away, but we thought he was just playing,” says one of Gomolemo’s friends.
Bahurutshe will appear in court again on the 21 February. He will be remanded in custody while police investigations continue.
