By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of 6-year-old Amantle Samane from Orlando, Soweto, according to Gauteng police.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni gave an update on Thursday morning.
Samane was found murdered and 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.
Mthombeni said Simiao was the key suspect and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.
The Mozambican national, a welder who is living illegally in South Africa, was arrested on Wednesday evening after a team led by the station commander and branch commander traced him to another shack in Zola.
“We can confirm the suspect has been put behind bars. Of concern in this case is that we still have quite a serious challenge with some South Africans. They keep on harbouring illegal immigrants, “said Mthombeni.
“Indeed we have opened a case for harbouring this individual.”
He said police would act against anyone renting property to illegal immigrants.
“The whole government approach is the way to go. We work with our sister department, the department of home affairs. As to where and when we find out there are illegal immigrants, we will deal with such.”
The suspect is expected to appear at the Protea magistrate’s court on Friday.
Mthombeni also said investigations have revealed that insect poison was found to have caused the deaths of some of the children in Naledi.
“The pathologists reflected that it is carbamates. It is a bate which kills insects but that does not mean it overrules the question of saying that halephirimi might have been used,” said Mthombeni.
“It is common knowledge that in our residential places when we’ve got challenges with the rats, in terms of insects, we use those of which one cannot overrule… after we have applied it, highly probable, they [carbamates] may [have] at the end of the day [touched] some of the food. These issues remain there.
He said samples had been taken from areas where it is suspected that children fell ill and died after consuming products bought from spaza shops.