AN EAST London police officer is facing murder charges following an incident in which his seven-month-old baby daughter allegedly burnt to death inside an oven.
Constable Mxolisi Phakamile of Fleet Street police station is in custody and has been charged with murder, arson and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).
He was arrested last Friday morning at his home in Soto location near Mooiplaas 50km outside East London.
His wife Nomonde Phakamile told the Daily Dispatch yesterday she had received a call from her husband’s commanders last week on Wednesday, that Phakamile was not well and had been admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
She went to see him and he was discharged the following day.
“I was sleeping on Thursday night … I realised my husband was missing from the bed … I called to him and he answered from the floor … he told me he was experiencing stomach cramps … I asked him to come back to bed and rest but he refused,” Phakamile said.
She claimed Phakamile crawled to the kitchen and got hold of a knife and that was when she jumped from the bed and ran outside leaving her sleeping infant behind.
“He got up and locked himself inside the house. He was angry and possessed. I cried and I ran to his sister’s house for help,” she said.
The officer’s sister Nokhanya Piliki said she immediately called the police and gathered men from the village to confront Phakamile.
She said police and fire brigade arrived at the scene. The fire was put out and the search for the baby started.
Last Friday morning while picking up the few items that were spared by the fire, Phakamile’s cousin Nomoya Mqokozo opened the oven and discovered the remains of the badly burnt infant inside.
Police returned to the scene and collected the remains.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Sibongile Soci confirmed the incident and said the police officer would appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court again on Wednesday. —
Baby dies in oven as home burns
Constable Mxolisi Phakamile of Fleet Street police station is in custody and has been charged with murder, arson and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).
He was arrested last Friday morning at his home in Soto location near Mooiplaas 50km outside East London.
His wife Nomonde Phakamile told the Daily Dispatch yesterday she had received a call from her husband’s commanders last week on Wednesday, that Phakamile was not well and had been admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
She went to see him and he was discharged the following day.
“I was sleeping on Thursday night … I realised my husband was missing from the bed … I called to him and he answered from the floor … he told me he was experiencing stomach cramps … I asked him to come back to bed and rest but he refused,” Phakamile said.
She claimed Phakamile crawled to the kitchen and got hold of a knife and that was when she jumped from the bed and ran outside leaving her sleeping infant behind.
“He got up and locked himself inside the house. He was angry and possessed. I cried and I ran to his sister’s house for help,” she said.
The officer’s sister Nokhanya Piliki said she immediately called the police and gathered men from the village to confront Phakamile.
She said police and fire brigade arrived at the scene. The fire was put out and the search for the baby started.
Last Friday morning while picking up the few items that were spared by the fire, Phakamile’s cousin Nomoya Mqokozo opened the oven and discovered the remains of the badly burnt infant inside.
Police returned to the scene and collected the remains.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Sibongile Soci confirmed the incident and said the police officer would appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court again on Wednesday. —
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