Cape Town - The case against an Eastern Cape mother who allegedly murdered her four children in a rondavel with a sledgehammer has been postponed in the Ngcobo Magistrate’s Court.
Nomboleko Simayile, 32, was transferred to the local hospital after she fell sick in the holding cells and the matter against her was postponed in her absentia, the provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Luxolo Tyali said.
She faces four counts of murder.
This comes after she was arrested on November 9 in the Mhlabubomvu locality in Engcobo.
At the time, Eastern Cape provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said the children were between 2 and 11 years old and sustained injuries to the upper part of their bodies.
“According to the report, the 32-year-old mother with her four children aged between 2 and 11, were sleeping in their home in the village, when in the morning, four deceased bodies of the children were found in the rondavel hut where they were sleeping.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that they had been assaulted by their own mother with a sledgehammer. Consequently, they suffered serious injuries to their upper bodies,” Kinana said.
However, in her absentia, State prosecutor Lindelwa Totyi told the court the State intends on applying for Simayile to be referred for a medical observation in accordance to section 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act at her next appearance.
The court heard there was reasonable doubt from the State that Simayile is not mentally fit to stand trial.
On the day of the incident, Simayile allegedly told her father she killed her children, two boys and two girls aged two years, five years, nine years and 11.
The court heard the incident occurred while Simayile’s parents were sleeping in a separate flat within the same homestead.
Her father alerted his wife and summoned members of the community after he made the gruesome discovery of his bludgeoned grandchildren.
IOL