The father of Bokgabo Poo (4), Irvin Khoza, has expressed disappointment in the justice system after Ntokozo Zikhali, the man accused of murdering his child, was found not guilty on all four charges related to her death.

Bokgabo’s mutilated body was found in a veld in Wattville, south of Benoni, after she went missing on October 10 last year while playing with a friend in Masoleng Park.

Yesterday, acting judge Ian Cox handed down the judgment in the Pretoria High Court sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court following the start of trial last week.

Cox told the court that there is no evidence to find Zikhali guilty of counts three to six which include kidnapping, murder, defeating the ends of justice and violating a corpse.

Guilty plea for separate incident

Zikhali, of Dalpark, faced another count of rape, involving the rape of a nine-year-old Benoni girl in 2021, which he admitted to during the second day of trial on August 1.

In his guilty plea, read by his attorney advocate Anneke van Wyk, Zikhali stated that he unlawfully sexually penetrated the girl without her consent on August 8, 2021.

He said the victim was playing in a park with her friends, and when the friends left, he approached her and asked if she would take a photo of him.

He then picked her up, closed her mouth and took her to a dam, where he raped her.

Zikhali said he knew what he did was wrong and wanted to apologise to the child by going to the park, hoping to find her again.

He initially faced six counts, but count two (the second charge of rape of a nine-year-old) was withdrawn by the state due to insufficient evidence.

Concerns regarding outcome

Speaking to the Benoni City Times, Khoza said he was ’emotionally broken and in disbelief’ of what had transpired in court yesterday.

Father Themba Seya who has been providing the family with spiritual guidance since the murder said: “It is a sad and a dark day today. I’ve taken our concerns regarding the outcome of the case with government senior officials to reopen and investigate the case again.”

Zikhali is expected to be sentenced on Thursday for the 2021 rape of the nine-year-old girl.