Africa-Press – South-Africa. The kidnapped Paarl East girl, who went missing from her home, was laid to rest on Friday.
The status of arrests made in the case remain unclear. Tamia ‘Mia’ Botha, 4, went missing almost two weeks ago, and was found a day later in the bushes next to a Paarl school’s sports field.
Tamia’s funeral took place at her home in Klein Nederburg, Paarl, and was followed by a procession to the church, where the community created a human chain in her memory.
Community members came out in droves to celebrate the little girl, with children holding pictures of her as they walked alongside the white coffin, which was decorated with pink flowers.
The councillor for Drakenstein, Pat Cupido, said the service was a representation of how the community rallied behind one of its own.
“The family is doing well at the moment, given the circumstances. Lots of community members came out to support the family,” said Cupido.
Last week, News24 reported that, according to police information at the time, two men had been arrested and were to be charged with Tamia’s murder.
At the time, a 37-year-old and 40-year-old were supposed to have appeared in court.
But, this week, Western Cape police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said the matter was still being investigated.
He did not elaborate as to whether the two were still in custody or just people of interest to investigators.
Swartbooi said:
Ian Cameron, of Action Society, attended the funeral – and said the community was angry about the police’s lack of communication.
“The police, up to this point, have never really communicated with the community. There were several people taken in for questioning, but there wasn’t clear communication on what the status of the investigation was. All we know now is that it is at a very sensitive stage,” said Cameron.
Pointing out the community’s anger, he said three or four people were taken in for questioning on different occasions.
“The police told some of the media that someone would be appearing in court on Thursday. Child protection services then told us no one was going to appear. On Friday, police said an appearance would be made, so everyone went to court,” said Cameron.
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“After a four-hour wait, the prosecutor came and said the suspects wouldn’t be charged, and the investigation was not up to standard. From what I know, it was the wrong two people arrested,” he said.
According to Cameron, no one has been arrested since then.
“There are two or three leads from other suspects, but it is at a sensitive stage and we will hopefully see arrests and official charges in the next few days,” said Cameron.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
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