A family representative of Amantle Samane, who was raped and brutally murdered allegedly by Pethe Simiao, told Zimoja that she felt like pouncing on him while he was in the dock.Simiao told the court, through his defence, that he was assaulted by prison wardens before he came to court for his bail application.

HE DESERVES IT

Mahlogonolo Samane told Zimoja that the accused deserves every bad thing that comes his way. "I don't care if he was beaten up and if that's the case then not much was done to him since he can still walk by himself. If it were for me, I would have jumped on him and finished him off. Why does he think he deserves pity. Who cares if he was given a little beating- he's still alive. Amantle is not coming back to us," said Mahlogonolo. She added that the past couple of hours have been painful because they laid Amantle to rest yesterday.

"I feel so sorry for my sister- she buried her child yesterday and today she has to look at her killer who now wants pity after doing something so terrible," she said

KEEP HIM SAFE

The magistrate presiding over the matter ,David Mhago, ordered that Simiao be kept in solitary confinement until his next court date.

"The accused must be taken to hospital and thereafter be kept in solitary confinement," he said. Following Simiao's claims, court took a short adjournment where paramedics were called to assess the extent of his injuries and if indeed it was true that he was assaulted.

A police officer was called to the stand to verify Simiao's claims. Brigadier Shiburi told the court that Simao told him that he wasn't assaulted by other prisoners but by authorities. "I asked him who assaulted him and he said it was a prison wardens. He said his chest, arm and leg were sore, however. he didn't disclose why he was assaulted," said Shiburi. Simiao is said to have confessed to the police about what happened to Amantle and police confirmed that the details will be heard in court. The matter was postponed to 3 December for formal bail application.