For almost a year, Irvin Ndlovu sat angrily in the courtroom whenever the man accused of killing his four-year-old daughter appeared.
A week ago, when Ntokozo Zikhali was acquitted of killing Bokgabo Poo, her father simply burst into tears. Those tears were of a helpless father, who felt let down by the SA justice system.
The Ekurhuleni family have now turned to AfriForum’s private prosecution unit to help find closure — and their child’s missing body parts.
“I burst into tears because I just could not believe it, though I knew from the start that we would not get justice for Bokgabo because I had no faith in the system.”
“A few days later, we were happy when the accused was sentenced to life for rape. It meant that he would be put away for life, but then our happiness disappeared when we realised that we would never get justice for Bokgabo.”
Ndlovu told TimesLIVE Premium the family had met AfriForum.
“We cannot just let this go. We can’t walk away without answers. AfriForum are now helping us,” he said.
Ntokozo Zikhali was accused of two rapes, kidnapping, mutilation of a body, defeating the ends of justice and violation of a corpse. He pleaded not guilty. Zikhali was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to the rape of a nine-year-old girl.
We cannot just let this go. We can’t walk away without answers. Afriforum are now helping us.
— Irvin Ndlovu, Bokgabo Poo's father
Bokgabo’s dismembered body was found in October last year, with some body parts still missing, in two separate locations in Wattville.
She was last seen in grainy CCTV footage merrily skipping along from a park near her family’s house.
The next day, a 63-year-old woman was sweeping her yard when she found the leg of a child in a shallow grave. About 800m away, more body parts were found in a section of open veld.
AfriForum’s private prosecution unit spokesperson Barry Bateman confirmed that Ndlovu had approached the unit. However, he explained there would be no private prosecution.
“We have been formally briefed to assist them, but there is not going to be a private prosecution. The case against the accused, that man, has been acquitted. He cannot be tried again for the same crime, that’s simply the way the law works,” he said.
AfriForum plans to help the family get answers from authorities.
“This is a family that needs closure. There are missing body parts that they are very worried about. They need to reclaim those to bury them with the rest of her body. This is part of their efforts to find closure.”
This is a family that needs closure. There are missing body parts that they are very worried about. They need to reclaim those to bury them with the rest of her body. This is part of their efforts to find closure
— Barry Bateman, AfriForum’s private prosecution unit spokesperson
“We learned this week, despite the acquittal in court and this judgment being handed down, the prosecutor hasn’t even briefed the family. We had to explain to them the implications of what this acquittal is, in terms of that particular accused and explain to them that there is no way he can be tried again for this crime. That’s the end of the road.”
Bateman said AfriForum would represent the family to get answers from the National Prosecuting Authority and SA Police Service.
“First, on how this man was acquitted and what failures there were in this investigation. The NPA must explain why they didn’t have the decency to sit down with the family to explain to them what had happened in court and the implications of the court judgment. So we are representing the family,” he said.
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