Accused in Lukhololwam Mkontwana’s murder appears in court

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A 31-year-old man has appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town in connection with the kidnapping and murder of an eight-year-old boy. The child was allegedly kidnapped while playing outside his house in Nyanga last year. The family of Lukhololwam Mkontwana alleges that they received a message shortly after his disappearance demanding a ransom for his release.

They were unable to pay the amount and the little boy’s body was found three days later. The case has been postponed until Friday for the accused, Aphiwe Vakala, to apply for bail.

Secretary of the CPF, Dumisane Qwabe, says it’s been a difficult time for the community.

“For him and his core team, requesting an amount of R1000 was one of the things that made us not be happy, especially this one suspect, who’s the neighbour not even 250 metres away from the family of Lukhololwam. It’s a challenge but we’ll support the family and we’ll make sure that justice is done for Lukhololwam. We already submitted our opposition letter for bail to the I.O. to make sure that there’s no bail granted for him until he serves his sentence in jail.”