A twenty-six-year old woman is in police custody after she allegedly strangled her 10-year-old daughter while in deep sleep.
Residents of Basimane Ward in Serowe Village were last week in a state of shock after they heard that one of the ward members, Hannah Chekane, had strangled her own daughter to death.
Chekane, now charged with murder, was not granted permission by the government authorities to attend the burial of her daughter.
Interviewed by Sunday Standard, the family spokesmen, Tshepo Phedi, said, “The family is still in shock over what happened.”
She explained that Chekane told them that she slept with her daughter on Monday and on the morning of the following day, Tuesday, at around 7, she strangled her to death.
She said around 9 that morning, her grandmother asked about the whereabouts of the girl to which she replied that she had killed her but the granny thought Chekane was joking.
Phedi said then the old woman went to the house where the two slept and found the girl dead then called for help.
“The suspect told me that she wanted to kill her daughter since last year but she was afraid to take action,” Phedi said.
She further explained that the suspect told her that sometime last month Chekane attempted to kill her but did not.
“What I have personally realized about Chekane is that she could be suffering from deep depression,” she said, and added that she kept on telling her (Phedi) that since her mother and her boyfriend died, her standard of living was poor.
Senior Superintendent Boikhutso Dintwa of Serowe Police Station said they are holding a 26-year-old woman as a prime suspect in the death of her ten year old daughter.
He said the investigations are still in initial stages, so the police have not yet established the motive behind the death.
Dintwa said he is worried about the increasing number of violent cases in his policing area, saying that since the beginning of this year his office had recorded over 7OO assault cases.
“In addition, about eight people have been murdered since the beginning of the year.”
Dintwa appealed to members of the public to seek advice when they have social problems.
The deceased was buried on Saturday.
