Court hears how slain Lolitha Kowa fought back against her attackers

The State revealed that slain Lolitha Kowa tried to fight for herself as she was raped and murdered earlier this week.

The seven-year-old girl’s body was found with a screwdriver lodged in the head.

The prosecutor explained that Lolitha had defensive wounds and that a DNA sample was found on her.

Hours after her body was discovered, police arrested the girl’s neighbour, Nokuthula Matyesini, and her boyfriend, Odwa Jack.

Little Lolitha was last seen when she came home from school on Tuesday afternoon, around 3pm, saying she was going to play with her friend, who is Matyesini’s daughter.

And around 5pm, the family went to look for her at the house, but the accused allegedly refused to open it for them.

The couple appeared shocked as they walked onto the dock in the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court on Friday morning. Jack had a blanket wrapped around his waist.

When the magistrate asked them if they wanted legal representation, they both answered that they wanted to speak for themselves.

They told the court that they had no legal background, and then, after, they opted for a Legal Aid lawyer.

According to the State, the two accused allegedly murdered Lolitha. “She went home from school to change her clothes, and informed her parents to play with the child of the accused before the court.

“Later that evening, at about 5.30pm, the parents went to look for the child but couldn’t find her. They went to the house and they knocked, and no one answered.

“On the next morning at 59-block, her body was found by a member of the public around 8am. The victim had wounds on the arms, forehead, and a screwdriver stuck in her head and a sock in her mouth.”

The dogs were taken out to the scene, where there was a lot of blood, and her clothing was found. The car, belonging to Accused 1 (Jack), had blood in it.

The post-mortem revealed that there were defensive wounds under the nails.

The friend with whom the victim was last seen is currently with social workers.

“There was a mop in the house, and Matyesini was also in the house at the time of the incident.

“And residents went to the house a few times, and no one opened for her.”

He admitted that the evidence was circumstantial. The State prosecutor asked for a remand until August 1 for bail information.

Outside the court, Lolitha's aunt, Ntombifuthi Kowa, expressed that they became emotional upon seeing the two accused.

“It was as if Nokuthula was proud of what she did to Lolitha.

“She wanted to reply to the magistrate, and that was a sign that she didn’t have any remorse or regret for what she did.”

She explained that the family only found out the extent of Lolitha’s injuries on Thursday.

“A sock was stuffed inside her mouth, and she had a wound on her arm. Those details turned our day from bad to worse.

“We want the court to refuse bail for both.”

Outside the court, hundreds of people protested against bail.

“My sister is doing much better because she knows that she has people who care about what happened to Lolitha.”

Police Portfolio Committee Chairperson Ian Cameron said Lolitha forms part of the three children who are killed every day.

“That means almost 25 children are murdered every week in South Africa and 100 per month.

“There is a pandemic in terms of child murders, and it’s almost like they become statistics, and it has become a norm.

“How can it be that a little girl had a screwdriver stuck in her head and a sock stuffed down her throat and sperm found in her when they did a post-mortem?”

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za