Cape Town – A 35-year-old Cape Town mother was reportedly arrested after her two children died in a shack fire in an informal settlement in Grabouw on Friday.
Reports indicated that the shack in which the children died had been locked.
“Reports allege that the 35-year-old woman locked the children inside their shack and set it on fire,” EWN quoted police spokesperson Novela Potelwa as saying.
The mother appeared in court on Friday on charges of arson and murder.
“The arrest relates to an incident where Grabouw police were called out to the Waterworks informal settlement in the early hours of Friday. Upon arrival they discovered a shack that was locked and already on fire.
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“During the inspection of the scene the charred bodies of two young boys, aged 3 and 5, were discovered,” police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said.
“As part of the police investigation into the incident, Grabouw police took witness statements and the suspect, who is the mother of the children, and was subsequently arrested,” Potelwa said, according to Times Live.
Overberg chief fire officer, Reinhard Geldenhuys confirmed that the fire department received a call from Waterworks informal settlement at 11.55 on Friday.
“We were able to put the fire out. We discovered two bodies of children,” Geldenhuys said, as per IOL.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
