Further arrests not ruled out as mother appears in court for murder of Jayden-Lee Meek
The court papers have revealed that 11-year-old Jayden-Lee Meek, who allegedly died in the hands of his mother, died after being hit with an "unknown" hard object to the head.
Image: Timothy Bernard/ Independent Newspapers
Police have not ruled out the possibility of more arrests as their investigation continues into the tragic murder of 11-year-old Jayden-Lee Meek.
This comes as Tiffany Nicole Meek, the 31-year-old mother of Jayden-Lee, appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of murder, crimen injuria, and defeating the ends of justice following her arrest on Friday.
Meek, who told the court that she intends to appoint a new attorney after her initial legal representative failed to appear, is set to return to court for her bail application on Friday.
She remains in custody.
Jayden-Lee Meek's mother, Tiffany Meek, appears in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
Deputy Minister of Police Dr Polly Boshielo and Deputy Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili joined scores of community members outside the court.
Boshielo said police are treating the murder of Jayden-Lee with the utmost seriousness, deploying all available resources, and confirmed that more arrests are possible as the investigation continues.
"The investigating and the tracking team have been hard at work, following all possible leads and collecting all the information that could lead to Jayden-Lee's killer. Our team has been working closely with the NPA, where evidence gathered resulted in a warrant of arrest, which was executed on Friday. It is rather unfortunate that Jayden-Lee was killed and found in the very space where he should have been safe and secure," she said.
Scores of community and children's rights activists have gathered outside the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court for the appearance of Jayden-Lee Meek's mother, Tiffany Meek.
Image: Siyabonga Sithole
Earlier in the morning, tensions ran high outside the court, where Fleurhof community members and children's rights activists called for justice.
Neil Singh, a community activist, expressed the community's sadness over the death of the young Royal College learner in May.
"When I learnt that Jayden-Lee had gone missing, I posted this information on social media and later joined a community march to the Florida police station. It became clear that something was amiss in this matter," he said.
Thoko Khambule from Fleurhof stated that the community, which came out in their numbers to mourn the learner, was shocked by the alleged involvement of the mother, whose responsibility was to protect and nurture Jayden-Lee.
"We want justice to be served for Jayden-Lee Meek's death. If indeed the mother is involved in the murder, we want her to answer to the community. We were there with her as she was mourning the death of her child. We call on the justice system to do the right thing as we want answers," she said.
Also outside court, ActionSA MP, Dereleen James said: “I will not stand here today and be grateful that the police have done their job. We will not apologise. Had we not marched to Parliament and brought the matter to the highest office, would we have seen a speedy arrest?"
Cape Times