While a 17-year-old teenager appeared in camera at the Mtunzini Magistrate’s Court in connection with the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the young victim was laid to rest just kilometres away.
Amanda Mthembu’s naked body was found in a cane field in Dokodweni in the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
A small group went to court, where the accused minor appeared in camera.
In the video below, teenage suspect in court for rape and murder:
Community member Mava Ntombela says: “We are here to support Amanda’s family. The community is still outraged and devastated about this incident. We are against his bail application because the community has threatened to take the law into its own hands if he gets bail.”
A few kilometres away, Amanda’s final journey was held.
Her family described her as an intelligent girl, who had a promising future.
“I am still devastated; her body was in a bad state. The family is distraught, and we are lost for words, this is a first in our area. Unfortunately, it started in our family,” says her uncle, Bongumusa Mchunu.
Mthembu went missing on June 14, when she went to visit a relative. After a week-long search, her decomposing body was found in a cane field. The suspect remains in custody and will return to court on July 3.
Police say he has two pending child rape cases.
