4-year-old East boy brutally murdered
Bandile Skosana's body was found under a big rock with stab wounds.
As the country marks child protection week, a family grieved the loss of their four-year-old boy who was found dead on Sunday.
The body of Bandile Skosana was found under a rock in Rethabiseng near Bronkhorstspruit, the family confirmed.
Bandile went missing on Saturday and was last seen near his father’s home.
His father, Sipho Skosana, said the boy, who lived with his mother in Daveyton, had come to stay with them during the lockdown period.
“On Saturday afternoon we searched for him everywhere, but could not find him,” he said.
“We then went to open a missing person’s case and notified members of the community to help us look for him.”
The next day a 14-year-old boy, who is said to have been hunting at a veld in another section, reported seeing a body matching Bandile’s description.
Skosana and some friends went to search the area and found Bandile’s body under a rock.
“We didn’t remove the rock that covered him, we didn’t want to tamper with the scene,” he said.
“We were told by the forensic team that he was stabbed 14 to 15 times in the chest, but when we found him there was no blood at the scene.”
“We have so many unanswered questions. All I want to know is what happened to my son.”
Bandile, who celebrated his fourth birthday on Tuesday, was described as a cheerful child who loved being around others.
“This is really hard on us as a family and we really hope the police can get to the bottom of this.”
Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said police received information about a child’s body at 17:00 on Sunday.
“We are still investigating and no arrests have been made.”
On Monday the country marked national child protection, week which is commemorated annually to raise awareness of the rights of children.
The week is meant to campaign against the abuse and exploitation of children.
Meanwhile, social media tributes have been pouring in for the four-year-old with people calling for justice.
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