(Crime): Mother Accused of killing her 4 Children referred for Mental Observation

In South Africa, Nomboleko Simayile, the Eastern Cape woman accused of bludgeoning her 4 children to death, collapsed in the police holding cells before she was meant to appear in the Engcobo Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, November 17, 2022.

Simayile, 32, was expected to apply for bail on Thursday. Instead, the matter was postponed in her absence, according to the National Prosecuting Authority's Luxolo Tyali.

The accused is being held in hospital after the collapse and she may be spending more time under the watchful eyes of medical practitioners as State prosecutor, Lindelwa Totyi, told the court the NPA intends to have her referred for a mental health check. In terms of Section 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act – at her next appearance.

According to the state, there is a suspicion that Simayile is not mentally fit to stand trial. “It is alleged that on the morning of Wednesday, 09 November 2022, the accused told her father that she had killed her two boys and two girls, aged 11, 9, 5 and 2,” said the NPA spokesperson.

The children were asleep in their Rondavel at their Homestead in the Tsalaba area before their mother allegedly killed them. The suspect’s parents were sleeping in a nearby flat in the same homestead. After Simayile informed her father of her alleged act, he summoned his wife and other community members after seeing the gruesome scene himself.

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