Mother of Thoriso Themane blames cops for missing court appearance

The mother of Thoriso Themane - the Limpopo man who died two months ago after he was brutally attacked by a group of pupils in Flora Park, Polokwane - is angry that she was not told about the court appearance of the men arrested for her son's murder.

Maria Themane told SowetanLIVE on Tuesday that the family was assured that they would be kept up to date about developments in the case, including court appearances.

However, she said she only learnt in the news that the suspects arrested for her son's murder appeared in court on Tuesday.

“There was an agreement between us and the police that as a family we would be kept abreast with developments on the case, especially with regards to the court appearance of the people arrested for my son's killing.

"This was meant to ensure that we are able to attend the proceedings. But I was shocked to hear from the radio news that there was a court appearance of those people because no one had told us,” said the grieving mother.

Upon hearing about the appearance of the suspects in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court, she called Major-General Sam Manala, the deputy provincial commissioner for detectives, to find out about the failure to keep the family informed.

“I was surprised when Manala told me that he had sent one of his colleagues to come and inform us - but that information never reached us, hence we were taken aback,” she said.

Themane blames the police for playing with the family's emotions, accusing them of inflicting more pain.

“I want the police to come to my house and explain why they failed to report to us about the court appearance. The explanation must be done tonight [Tuesday] at 7pm. Failure to do so would mean they do not want to work with us. But only God knows,” she said.

Manala maintained that he sent one of his colleagues to inform the family.

“I had sent the investigating officer on the matter to go and inform the Themane family about the court appearance of the suspects. I also got a report back that the family had been informed, hence there was a family representative in court when the suspects appeared,” said Manala, adding that the officer would visit the family again to inform them of the postponement of the case.

“I'm going to send the investigating officer to inform the Themane family that the case is coming up again tomorrow.”

The seven suspects are expected to continue their bail application on Wednesday.

Thoriso, 28, was attacked on February 23 near the Flora Park dam. The video of his attack went viral after it was captured on cellphone and circulated on social media.

He died a day later at the Polokwane Hospital.