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- A 24-year-old man who allegedly killed a North West nurse has made his first court appearance.
- Iris Mohokare was murdered on 12 October, and her body was discovered by her sister.
- The man charged with her murder was allegedly seen with bloodied clothes not far from the murder scene.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) in North West has called on the Schweizer-Reneke Magistrate's Court to deny bail to a man accused of killing a nurse by slitting her throat.
The organisation said denying bail to the accused would send a strong message to society that the State did not tolerate the abuse and harassment of women and children.
Iris Mamotlakana Mohokare, a nurse at Ipelegeng Clinic in Schweizer-Reneke, was murdered in her rented home in Ipelegeng township on 12 October. Her throat had been slit, and her bloodied body was discovered by her sister a day later.
The accused Bongane Gregory Shebi, who was reportedly Mohokare's neighbour, made his first appearance in the Schweizer-Reneke Magistrate's Court on Monday on a charge of murder.
The case was postponed to 24 October for a bail application.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame said Mohokare's sister immediately alerted the police after discovering the bloodied body on Thursday.
He said:
"Police then started looking for the accused and ultimately arrested him on 15 October," said Mamothame.
He said upon arrival at the police station, Shebi informed police that he wanted to tell the truth, which subsequently saw him making a confession.
Mamothame said Shebi also took the police to the spot where he had thrown away his bloodied clothes.
READ | Family of murdered Tembisa hospital nurse crushed by grief as they see ‘killer cop’ for first time
In his confession, Shebi, who was alleged to have been in the company of another person at the time of the crime, revealed that the motive was to rob Mohokare, said Mamothame.
"He further alleged that he was not the one who stabbed the deceased, but it was the person he was with, but police evidence obtained at the scene indicated that only one person [committed the crime]."
Mamothame said the police investigation was continuing and that Shebi would remain in custody until his next court appearance.
Denosa's North West secretary Reuben Molete said they were saddened that yet another nurse had been lost to the public service, given the staff shortage in the sector.
"Not only is her loss a cause of untold pain to her family, but the community of Ipelegeng has lost a key healthcare service provider [with hands] of healing for the community.
"Denosa calls for a paradigm shift in the mode of laxity with which the many deaths of innocent [people] has been responded to by the State.
"The pain of the killing of a nurse goes deeper and directly affects the care patients receive at a facility where such a nurse worked," said Molete.
