A court has been told how a cop allegedly stalked a pregnant teenager for months and then had her killed and stole her baby.
|||Thohoyandou – The Saselemani Magistrate’s Court has been told how a female traffic officer allegedly stalked a pregnant teenager for months and then stole her baby after it was born.
During a bail hearing on Thursday, the court heard how Limpopo traffic officer Masingita Chavhani allegedly followed pregnant teen Hlulani Chauke for months on end as her pregnancy progressed.
State prosecutor Hilke Janse van Rensburg said Chavhani faked her pregnancy to match that of the teenager. She then pretended at work that she was due and applied for maternity leave from July to November.
During that time Chauke gave birth. But the teen mother was subsequently murdered and her baby was stolen.
In October, police found the missing baby with Chavhani after following up on a tip-off and arrested her. They also recovered a cellphone that belonged to the murdered teenager from Chavani’s husband.
Chavhani, who has since changed her surname to Mashao, wants to be released on bail but the State is opposing her request.
Chavhani, who allegedly hired a hitman to kill the teenager, is facing charges of murder, robbery, kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle.
Investigating officer Thomas Ngobeni said Chavhani approached the alleged hitman, Stephen Sithole on October 1 and told him there were people in Johannesburg willing to pay R50 000 for a baby, but the mother had to be killed.
He told court that on the day Chauke was killed, Chavhani called the teen and pretended that she wanted to help her acquire a birth certificate for her baby.
Ngobeni said Chavhani drove off with Chauke and her baby to the nearby Nandoni Dam where the teen mother was killed. The teen’s body was abandoned in the bush.
The investigating officer said Chavhani took the baby and the dead woman’s cellphone.
State prosecutor Van Rensburg said: “She took the child to her husband, and told him that clothes must be bought for the toddler.”
The State opposed Chavhani’s bail application on the grounds that releasing Chavhani could disturb “public peace”.
Irate people protested outside the court building which police had barricaded with barbed wire.
Van Rensberg warned that people outside the court “wanted revenge” and they would harm Chavhani if she was released, hence it was in the interest of justice that she remained in custody.
Alleged assassin Sithole, who is pleading not guilty, said he confessed to killing Chauke because he was afraid of undergoing police torture. Sithole confessed to kidnapping the baby and killing its mother for a R50 000 fee.
Once arrested, Sithole helped police with their probe which led to Chavhani being nabbed.
Magistrate Daniel Maluleke declined Chavhani’s bail application.
“If we say justice is done, you must have been given a chance to explain yourself, but if I release you and you are killed, the truth will remain in the dark,” Maluleke said in response.
The case has been postponed to May 26 to allow police to conduct further investigations.
African News Agency