A 41-year-old Eastern Cape mother has been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of her toddler son.
Police in the Eastern Cape said the incident took place on Monday in Crossroad Village outside Peddie.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said on Monday (July 8) at around 10pm, police were alerted by members of the community about a 41-year-old woman who assaulted and set alight her son.
“On police arrival, they found the body of a two-year-old boy who was assaulted and burned to death,” Mawisa said.
“It is alleged that the mother assaulted her child in front of her daughter, aged seven, who alerted the community.”
Police said the daughter was now in the custody of a family member.
“The mother was arrested on Monday on charges of murder.”
She is expected to appear in the Peddie Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has expressed shock and horror.
“As the police, gender-based violence against women and children are one of the main acts we condemn,” said Mene.
“Whatever circumstance that might have led her to allegedly kill her own child is unjustifiable. I have spoken to the investigating team that this case be given priority.”
In another incident, a week ago a KZN mother who drowned her four-year-old daughter in a bucket of water has been sentenced to an effective 18 years in jail.
The incident took place in April 2022.
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