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2 months ago
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Amantle Samane. (Supplied by family)
- A man identified as Pethe Sara Simiao has been arrested in connection with the murder of 6-year-old Amantle Samane, according to Gauteng police.
- Samane was found murdered and allegedly raped in a shack mere metres from her home on Monday.
- Her heartbroken mother spoke to News24.
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of 6-year-old Amantle Samane from Orlando, Soweto, according to Gauteng police.
"I can confirm that the suspect has been arrested," police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said on Thursday morning.
Muridili said provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni would provide more details at a briefing at the Eldorado Park police station.
Samane was found murdered and allegedly raped at a shack about 650 metres from her home on Monday.
Her family last saw her alive while she and other children were playing in the street.
A day after her death, Gauteng police announced that they were searching for Pethe Sara Simiao to assist them with the investigation.
But on Wednesday, police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said Simiao was the key suspect and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.
Masondo said police had also roped in Interpol to track him down.
"Since the investigation revealed that this person is not a South African, we suspect that he might escape or go to his country of origin," Masondo said at the time.
Gauteng police have launched a manhunt for Pethe Sara Simiao, who is believed to be behind the murder and rape of a 6-year-old Soweto girl. (Supplied/SAPS)
News24 visited the family home on Wednesday, where heartbroken mother, Ntombi Zodwa, recounted the last time she had seen her daughter alive.
She said she went to a nearby Usave store while Amantle was playing in the street with her friends. Upon her return, her daughter was gone.
She said she searched everywhere and asked her friends and nearby relatives if the child was there. She even went to Amantle's father's house three streets away, but to no avail.
A teenage boy, however, told the family that he last saw Amantle walking around with Simiao.
Zodwa said the teenager later went to the man's shack, forced the door open, and found the child's body inside.
He then alerted the family.
"He took us to where this guy stays. I found my child sleeping, covered in a blanket," the mother said.
She added that when she removed the blanket, she saw her child's shorts had been pulled off, and when she checked her neck, it looked like she had been strangled.
On Wednesday, police crime tape were over the door and windows of Simiao's shack. A steel table, an extension cord, bricks, playing cards, and a shelf were all that remained inside.
