A 31-year-old man from Mamelodi in Pretoria accused of slitting the throat of an eight-year-old girl was found guilty of attempted murder on Tuesday.

Sipho Nkosi was found guilty by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and will return for the pre-sentencing on May 10.

Nkosi slit the throat of his girlfriend’s daughter ‘execution-style’on April 24 last year in Mamelodi, Khutsong Extension, when he had an argument with her mother.

Reportedly, out of jealousy and because he could not reason with the mother, he went to the girl’s grandmother’s house where he took a knife and slit the little girl’s throat before fleeing the scene.

The girl’s father said the couple had been arguing outside the family home before the incident occurred.

The father said the mother told him that she asked Nkosi to leave after the argument that took place outside the gate. He then refused.

“The mother left the accused outside the grandmother’s house and went to a car wash, this is when the attack happened,” the father said.

Faint, chilling screams of a child shocked the grandmother who found the eight-year-old bleeding before she collapsed.

“I believe that he resorted to slitting my daughter’s throat in retaliation towards the mother,” the father said.

When the mother returned from the carwash, she saw Nkosi running out of the yard carrying a knife, the father detailed.

“She went inside and found the grandmother holding her daughter bleeding out of her neck.”

Police were called in and the child was taken to hospital and transferred to the intensive care unit at Pretoria East Hospital.

Nkosi was arrested the following day in Hammanskraal and taken to Mamelodi Police Station.

However, Mo Senne from #NotInMyName said they expect a harsh sentence.

“We expect nothing less than a life sentence for this perpetrator who has two previous gender-based violence convictions.”

“We call on the justice system to re-evaluate their processes when it comes to bail and parole, as well as the rehabilitation measures used to assess their fitness to be released back into society.

“Perpetrators of GBV rarely ever offend only once – this is indicative of a fault in the justice system and correctional services,” said Seene.

According to the father, the girl survived the attack and went back to school after undergoing counselling and social work.

He said the whole ordeal is a traumic for his daughter and has left her with a permanent speech impediment.

He added that the department of justice should set an example about this man and give him a hefty sentence.

He said he hoped on May 10 the justice system will send a strong message to other people who think of committing similar offences.

The family is being supported by #NotInMyName International, the ANC Women’s League and the Mamelodi Women’s Brigade who protested outside the courtroom.

Almost 100 community members recently signed a petition demanding that the accused should be denied bail.