'Remains are my toddler's,' mom of kidnapped child says

The family of a 19-month-old toddler who was kidnapped earlier this year, allegedly by her mother's lover, believes the remains found by a community member are that of their little girl.

Hlawuleka Prosperity Rikhotso was snatched from her mother in February, allegedly by Moses Rameu, 30, her new lover she had met on Facebook.

Rameu later died while in the police holding cells after he had been arrested for Hlawuleka's kidnapping.

Hlawuleka's mother Tlangelani Rikhotso told Sowetan on Wednesday that she was convinced that the remains found last week were her child's.

“Though the body was decomposed and some body parts are still missing, but having found her T-shirt next to the remains, I believe that's my child. I positively identified her clothes though I have to wait for the DNA results,” she said.

The toddler's remains were found in the bushes at Xawela village outside Giyani in Limpopo on Tuesday.

Hlawuleka's grandmother Connie Rikhotso said the family had asked community members to assist them to search for the missing remains and the search had “yielded positive results”.

“Since the other remains were found we never rested to look for the rest of them. Even this week we have been searching local koppies with community members and luckily, we found other remains at a different spot,” she said.

Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed that some of the remains were found on Tuesday by community members and that a forensic team would be dispatched to the village on Wednesday.

“We have already activated our forensic team to the village to attend to the new evidence. The DNA results have not been released yet, but the family has positively identified the body,” he said.

The grandmother said the family was still heartbroken and believed that the man preyed on her daughter on social media.

“It was not long after they met on social media that they met in person. The information we are receiving is that he had been targeting women with babies around Giyani and we don't know how many he had victimised,” she said.

Mojapelo said though preliminary investigations revealed that the remains could be that of Hlawuleka, only DNA results could confirm this beyond doubt.

“The kidnapper reportedly met the mother through social media, disappeared into the bushes with the child but was arrested within three weeks. He later died in police cells without divulging details regarding the whereabouts of the child,” Mojapelo said.

- Sowetan