Mom tells of horror of discovering girl's body

Johannesburg - A Palm Ridge, Katlehong, father asked to spend the day with his four-year-old daughter, which her mother reluctantly agreed to.

Just a few hours later, she would find her daughter's tiny, lifeless body in his home.

And, after a brief police investigation, it appears that the father killed his daughter with his bare hands out of spite.

Unable to come to terms with the mother of his child leaving him, Thabiso Mokoena allegedly targeted little Neo to get back at his estranged girlfriend.

In an exclusive interview with The Star, the child’s mother, Mbali Xaba, said Mokoena asked to spend some time with their daughter on Monday afternoon.

While she was uneasy about that, she agreed nevertheless.

“He came over to my house and at first asked me to leave with him, together with the baby, and I said no. I saw the look on his face (which she recognised from previous altercations) and I knew that he was angry,” said Xaba.

Within 15 minutes, after the father and daughter left Xaba’s home, Mokoena allegedly called and threatened to hurt Xaba in an unimaginable way.

“He called and told me he would hurt me for leaving him,” she said.

“After informing my mother about the threat, we went to his place, unaware he had already killed my baby. When we asked the neighbours his whereabouts, they told us he walked out, and they never saw him leave with a child,” said Xaba.

Unsettled by the threatening call, Xaba asked Mokoena’s cousin, who lives near Mokoena’s cottage, to go and see if her daughter was okay.

“She broke into his room, and found my baby lying on the bed, dead,” Xaba said, in tears.

Her cousin immediately called Eden Park police station, and Mokoena was arrested.

According to Captain Mega Ndobe, Mokoena was co-operative at the time of his arrest.

“He practically handed himself over to the police for the crime,” Ndobe said.

When The Star spoke to the neighbours, they described Mokoena as an introvert who would come and go, as he was seeking employment.

Xaba also recalled Mokoena’s suicide attempt in October, which she said was the first indication of his emotional instability.

“He attempted to take his life when I told him I was going to leave. When he got better, his counsellor asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend until he was emotionally strong again.”

However, Xaba said she had decided to leave him after she woke up in the middle of the night to find him staring at her.

She said it was at that point she realised she was frightened of him and then decided to leave.

However, Mokoena allegedly killed their daughter shortly after that to punish Xaba.

Mokoena faces a charge of murder and made his second appearance yesterday at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.

Xaba insisted on sitting at the front of the gallery as she wanted him to see her. However, when Mokoena saw her, he didn't acknowledge her, reaching out instead to a friend, who he greeted.

Mokoena is scheduled to be back in court on December 22 for a bail application and legal representation.

The Star