Machabe rape and murder trial: Investigators reveal ‘pattern’ in cases

THE INVESTIGATING officer testified in the Northern Cape High Court this week that the rape and murder of 11-year-old Relebogile Segami and two other rape cases that Itumeleng Machabe is accused of followed a similar pattern.

Warrant Officer Nico Botha pointed out that the three cases all occurred in the vicinity of the veld behind the Northern Cape legislature in Kimberley.

Botha, who is presently assigned to the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit, boasts a decade of service with the police. He has been part of the specialised FCS unit, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Marli Strydom, since 2021.

Botha told the court he was tasked with creating maps related to the three cases - the two rape cases from 2013 and 2021, as well as the rape and murder of Relebogile in 2022.

He produced four detailed maps that depicted the area around the Northern Cape legislature, including the nearby forests and the Marikana informal settlement. These maps marked the locations of the mentioned crimes based on the descriptions provided by witnesses.

Botha told the court that the Marikana settlement did not yet exist when the first rape incident took place in 2013.

“The whole area around the legislature was just a veld. There were only the formal houses on the other side of the building,” he said.

He confirmed that the shack belonging to Relebogile’s brother, Monnapule Mokgale, is located in Marikana.

He disclosed that Relebogile’s body was discovered 332.65 metres away from Monnapule’s shack on March 31, 2022.

According to Botha, the witnesses pointed out the crime scenes and then machine-assisted co-ordinates were determined. This was followed by the use of a GPS to pinpoint all the locations.

Botha said that on April 4, 2022, he visited Machabe’s home in Hadison Park, where he retrieved a black Vans T-shirt. This was after it was discovered that Machabe had been wearing this shirt on the day of Relebogile’s disappearance.

“I took it and sealed it in the forensic bag in front of the mother, who said she had already washed it.”

Botha added that he also collected dental samples from the deceased as part of the investigation.

Strydom meanwhile told the court that the FCS unit’s involvement in Relebogile’s case began on March 31, the day after her disappearance.

On that day, she said, they interviewed two children (a boy and a girl) who had been with the missing girl the previous day.

“They explained that the three of them were with the accused (Machabe), whom they accompanied to a friend’s (Walter) house in John Daka to get some food,” said Strydom.

“They didn’t receive food, they only got water and then left. They were on their way to a tuck shop when the accused asked the girl whether she was still a virgin. As she was feeling uncomfortable with the question, she left. Both the children said the girl felt uncomfortable.

“According to the boy, they went to another tuck shop to make a cash-back … They did not succeed and they then left.

“According to the boy, the accused took him by the hand and urged him for the money.

“The accused then asked the deceased, ‘Do you want to jol with me? If you will, I will pay you’.”

The State asked Strydom what she understood by “jol” and she said: “In my experience, it is either to kiss or to have intercourse. It is commonly used by children or young people.”

“According to the boy, the deceased refused. The accused asked her for a second time and she again refused.

“According to the boy, the three of them went to Maria’s house, where the accused used the toilet.

“The boy said he left them there and went home to eat”

Strydom said that Maria was among the interviewed witnesses, along with other children who were present on the day.

She stated that, based on the investigations, Machabe was the last person seen with Relebogile. She clarified that this wasn’t just based on the boy’s statement, but multiple other witness statements also corroborated this.

She went on to say that the search for Relebogile continued with the involvement of Galeshewe FCS members, the K9 unit, the Search and Rescue unit and community members.

“At about 5.30pm, we received a report that the body of a girl was found at the back of the legislature building, in the bushes.”

She explained that the entire team proceeded to the scene. The members who were still engaged in the search were promptly alerted and joined at the location. Additionally, the individual who discovered the body was also present at the scene.

According to Strydom, it would not have been easy to spot the body because it was concealed beneath bushes and the area was densely populated with vegetation.

“At the scene, we found the naked body of a female child underneath overhanging tree branches,” said Strydom.

“She was lying on her back. There was foam on her mouth and around her neck was a black and white cloth material. There were already a lot of ants. It appeared as if her vagina was swollen and was covered in what seemed like a fluid. It could have been semen, we don’t know. I didn’t notice any other injuries.”

She said a number of community members arrived at the scene while they were there.

“The body that was found fitted the description of the missing child.

“No other exhibits were taken at the crime scene because nothing was found.”

The State asked Strydom whether, based on her experience and her evaluation of the scene, that was the initial crime scene. She said, no.

“According to me, no. There was a very low-hanging tree branch that the body was pushed underneath of. According to me, she was pushed in, in order to hide the body.

In response to why she thought the body had been pushed under the branches, she said: “Because of the very low-hanging branches it seemed to me that she wasn’t just placed there, but was pushed in underneath the branches so as to hide it.”

The State produced pictures of the crime scene and Strydom was asked whether there was a possibility that there was a scuffle and that the girl might have been raped and murdered at the scene.

She said there were no signs of a scuffle, feet that were dragged, or of someone trying to get away.

“According to me, if this was the original crime scene, it would have been disturbed, or there would have been some kind of sign that she was defending herself or trying to get away.”

Strydom said they went back to the crime scene after March 31, 2022, but the municipality had cleaned the area and cut down the trees after the community demanded that the area be cleared.

“The community was complaining at the time of the bail application that a lot of crime happened in that area.”

The case was postponed until July 26 due to one of the main witnesses being sick.