A woman Veronique Makwena, 23, is facing trial before a South African court after being accused of hacking off a man’s penis after he was suspected of raping and killing her five-year-old daughter.
She is charged with attempted murder alongside sister-in-law Noxolo Maneli and family friend Siyabonga Pakade for attacking a man after her daughter’s body Chantelle was found in a public toilet.
Lawyer Fundile Matoto, who agreed to represent the women without fee after the case drew national attention, does not deny the attack took place but said the charges should be reduced.
Veronique daughter’s dead body was discovered slumped over in a public toilet prompting a Police investigation.
A man in his early 20s who was known to the family was taken for DNA testing, but police said they could not arrest him until results came back.
Around a month later Makwena, her 25-year-old sister-in-law and 24-year-old family friend allegedly confronted the man, saying he was responsible for the girl’s death.
During the confrontation, the three women are accused of cutting off his penis. The man was taken to an hospital where he named Makwena, Maneli and Pakade as his attackers.
He also underwent successful surgery to reattach his penis.
Makwena was arrested shortly afterwards and held in jail for two weeks until a charity organisation “Enough is Enough” helped raise funds to pay her bail and buy her groceries.
Speaking to News24 outside court on Wednesday, Makwena said: ‘When [Chantelle] was found, my heart sank, I was crushed. ‘My [daughter] was gone. While we looked for her through the night, she had been lying in that cold toilet. I was broken, I still am.’
The judge adjourned the case till February next year pending further investigation.
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