WATCH | Hammanskraal woman charged with five-year-old’s murder after ‘testing new gun’

A woman charged with the murder of a five-year-old boy was allegedly testing the gun inside her yard when a shot went off and a bullet struck the child.

This is according to neighbours where little Obakeng Minyuku lay bleeding in Temba, Hammanskraal, north Pretoria on Satuday.

Neighbours who spoke to Sowetan yesterday said Tselane Lebogang Mautla, the woman who has been charged with the Grade R boy’s murder, was apparently showing the gun to friends when it went off.

One neighbour she had heard that Mautla acquired the gun recently and had gone to the sports field on the same to test it.

At the time of the shooting, the grade R boy was passing outside Mautla’s house returning from a tuckshop.

Mautla, 38, has since been arrested, charged with murder and made her first appearance yesterday at the Moretele magistrate’s court.

The neighbour, who asked not to be named, said information they got from the crime scene was that Mautla was allegedly showing friends the firearm she bought three weeks ago when it went off.

“She [Mautla] went to a soccer field earlier that Saturday and fired several shots into the air to test the gun,” the neighbour claimed. “That day she went back home to her friends. The child was coming back from the shop and was next to the accused’s house when a bullet went off.”

Another neighbour said after Mautla realised what had happened she then took the child to clinic. Obakeng succumbed to his injuries at the clinic.

“We are hurt as neighbours. You can’t practice how to use a gun in the middle of a community where children are playing,” said the second neighbour.

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said a case was opened at the Temba police station after the boy was shot dead and that Mautla was arrested on Sunday. Asked whether the firearm was licensed, Nevhuhulwi said that would form part of the police investigation.

During her appearance in court Yesterday, the community packed the public gallery. Mautla became emotional as the court postponed the matter to February 4 for a formal bail application.

Going to school made him very happy because last year he was not yet attending school and stayed at home. Now we will never know his full potential — whether he would have been a lawyer, a soldier or something else. We were robbed

—  Mmapula Minyuku, Obakeng’s aunt,

Magistrate TA Mokgwatlheng told her she faces a possible 15-year sentence for murder. However, should the court find that the murder was premeditated, Mautla could face life imprisonment.

According to Obakeng’s aunt, Mmapula Minyuku, children who were nearby at the time initially thought the loud bang was caused by firecrackers, until they saw him collapse to the ground and called for help.

Minyuku, who was not at home when the incident occurred, described Obakeng as a playful and energetic child who was excited about starting school.

“Going to school made him very happy because last year he was not yet attending school and stayed at home,” Minyuko said. “Now we will never know his full potential — whether he would have been a lawyer, a soldier or something else. We were robbed.”

Another family member who was in court and asked not to be named said she was told that Mautla had claimed that people were chasing her as she was returning from a park and that is when she discharged her firearm.

“People initially thought it was firecrackers until they saw the boy lying down. That is what I was told. The family is heartbroken,” she said before the accused appeared in court.

Sowetan