Photo credit: Unsplash
Photo credit: Unsplash
It’s a disgusting act of barbarism that will haunt the Vosloorus community for some time to come. But the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has welcomed the 25-year jail term imposed on a father who killed his three-year-old daughter – after he decapitated the child and threw her head in a stream.
Gauteng dad jailed for ‘decapitating daughter’
The gut-wrenching crime has taken its toll on the provincial police department. For the last four years, the case has been active. Some diligent, solemn detective work led to the arrest of Musi Hlatshwayo. After disposing of the child’s head, the monstrous murderer left the rest of her body abandoned on a tree branch.
“On 24 January 2017, the deceased, Siphesihle Ndlovu, was left by her grandmother with her father Musi Hlatshwayo to be taken to preschool. The father, aged 24, then killed his daughter and decapitated her. He threw the head into a stream and put the body on a tree branch in Vosloorus. A missing child was reported to the police.”
“The search was launched and the body was recovered after five days in an open veld. The police traced and arrested the father. The sentence was handed down at Gauteng South High Court on Wednesday 16 September.”
Police secure conviction against gruesome child killer
The sickening discovery shook some of the most seasoned officers to their core. But, despite the grim details, Lieutenant General Mawela takes consolation in the fact that justice has been served. He believes that the life sentence for Hlatshwayo ‘sends a message to abusive men’, and congratulated the team who secured this conviction:
“We congratulate the detective for the hard work and thorough investigation that led to the successful conviction of the accused. The fight against crime committed against women and children remains on top of the Gauteng Police’s list of priorities. We are pleased with this successful conviction and believe it will send a strong message.”
