Media Statement from Limpopo Media Centre
Corporate Communication
South African Police Service

29 May 2014

POLOKWANE - A manhunt has been launched by Limpopo police after a 32-year-old man allegedly killed his girlfriend's two-year-old son on Monday. The suspect, along with his friend, visited the house of the suspect's 27-year-old girlfriend at Seshego Extension 71 on Monday night.

It is alleged that the man broke a window to gain access into the house wherein an argument ensued between the suspect and the girlfriend. With the argument getting heated up, the woman managed to escape and went to her aunt's house to seek for help, leaving her son and two siblings aged 10 and 14 years in the house. The suspects then allegedly crashed the two-year-old against the wall, cut his throat with a broken bottle and when the 14-year-old tried to intervene he was stabbed on the head.

The two-year-old was taken to Polokwane Provincial Hospital the same night but was certified dead on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect is still at large and the police are following positive leads. Anyone with information is urged to contact Warrant Officer Gilbert Machaka @ 0727447410, the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or the nearest police station.

Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola has expressed shock at the incident and vowed that police will not rest before the suspect is behind bars. "We are saddened by this incident. The fact that the incident happened now as we are about to observe the Child Protection Week is too much to bear. We plead with parents that they must leave children out of their domestic squabbles. As the police we are pursuing positive leads and with the assistance from community members our breakthrough is imminent", a dejected Masemola said.

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