A Ballito mother* who was arrested for allegedly drowning her four-year-old daughter in April last year pleaded guilty to premeditated murder yesterday.

She appeared in the KwaDukuza Regional Court in KZN, and her case was remanded to April 16 for sentencing.

According to a police source, at the time she was arrested, the 46-year-old confessed to drowning her daughter in a bucket of water because she was ‘difficult and troubling her’.

She allegedly said the child did not go to school because she was sick and was continuously complaining of a sore throat and stomach pains.

Feeling overwhelmed, she allegedly told police she filled two buckets with water and placed them in the shower.

She then allegedly tied the girl’s hands with duct tape and, holding her by her ankles, forced the child’s head into the bucket.

She allegedly held the child in that position for about 20 minutes.

*The court has ordered that the woman’s name be withheld to protect the identity of her other child.