Pretoria – Two sisters, 39-year-old Lindiwe Machaka, and 37-year-old Zanele Machaka, from Itireleng, an informal settlement near Laudium, appeared at the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in connection with the death of five children.
The sisters are facing five counts of culpable homicide, for the deaths of children aged one, two, four, five, and six.
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The sisters are also facing charges of child neglect.
Lindiwe is the grandmother to two of the deceased children, aged one and two.
While Zanele is a mother to the other dead children.
Allegations are that on the evening of 27 August 2023, the two women locked five children inside their home, and went to a nearby tavern.
It is alleged that while the two were out, their house caught fire and all the children sleeping inside were burnt to death.
After the tragic incident, both women were picked up by police at the tavern.
During their brief appearance, the sisters said they could each afford R500 for bail.
However, the magistrate suggested bail of R5 000 each.
Through their lawyer, the sisters told the court they would not be able to pay R5 000 each.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said the matter was postponed to Friday, (15 September 2023).
The accused were remanded in custody.
