Soshanguve hijacking: Four appear in court for 5-year-old’s murder
The little boy was shot and killed in front of his father during a hijacking in the driveway to their home earlier this month.
Two suspects who allegedly were involved in the killing of five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane from Soshanguve UU appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The court case was however postponed to May 30 for legal representation and further investigation for bail.
The two were arrested on May 20 for Ditebogo’s murder on May 10.
The suspects are each facing two counts of possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition.
According to NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, accused number 2 disclosed to the court that he has a pending case at Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on June 28.
“The investigations regarding this matter are still ongoing.
“Once the investigations reveal that the suspects are indeed involved in the killing of the five-year-old, then a charge of murder will be preferred.
“The accused is facing charges of possession of a firearm, ammunition, attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances,” said Mahanjana.
She urged the community to be patient and allow the state to do their job.
Meanwhile, the two suspects aged 30 and 36 who were arrested last week, made a brief appearance in court: one at the Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court and the other at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court.
Mahanjana said the matter against the two accused is set for May 27 and 28.
Ditebogo was shot and killed in front of his dad in a hijacking in the driveway of their Soshanguve home earlier this month.
An unconfirmed number of armed suspects allegedly hijacked the father’s bakkie and shot Ditebogo, who later died in hospital.
According to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Wendy Nkabi, after receiving information, the team worked tirelessly to find the whereabouts of more suspects linked to the boy’s murder.
She said information received from crime intelligence on Monday led the multi-disciplinary operation to Soshanguve and Atteridgeville respectively, where two suspects were arrested and two unlicensed firearms were recovered.
“One of the firearms is alleged to be the murder weapon, but that will be confirmed once the firearms have been sent for testing,” said Nkabi.
Ditebogo was laid to rest last week Friday.
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