Man who raped and murdered Amantle Samane to be sentenced after admitting guilt
The man who raped and murdered six-year-old Amantle Samane will be sentenced on 19 August after pleading guilty to all four charges against him in the High Court in Johannesburg on Friday.
Pethe Sara Simiao, a 25-year-old Mozambican national, faced charges of kidnapping, rape, murder and Contravention of the Immigration Act.
Amantle Samane goes missing
In October last year, the community of Orlando East in Soweto joined a mother's search for her little girl after she went missing.
She had last been seen playing with other children before Simiao called her to his rented shack at one of the houses in the neighbourhood.
He allegedly raped and killed the girl inside the shack and then went into hiding.
'A witness, who had earlier seen the child walking with Simiao, who he knew was not a relative, became suspicious and led the community members to a shack where the child's lifeless, half-naked body was found,' National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said in a statement.
Simiao's arrest and guilty plea
After an extensive search and investigation, the suspect was located and arrested by police in Zola, Soweto, on 23 October 2024.
In his plea, through his counsel, Simiao admitted to all charges.
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He provided a detailed account of the heinous acts he committed and confessed that he was under the influence of alcohol and had strangled Samane to conceal the rape.
'The court reviewed all aspects of the plea, found him guilty as charged and adjourned the case to 19 August 2025 for sentencing,' Mjonondwane said.
'We all broke down in tears'
Samane's family members were present in court for the verdict.
Speaking to TimesLive after the proceedings, the family's spokesperson Brenda Mjiyako said listening to Simiao's account of the murder was heartbreaking.
'It brought back the memories: of her last day, the pictures of where we found Amantle deceased, and the mortuary,' Mjiyako said.
'The mother broke down, we all broke down in tears. We knew this day would come but we didn't think it would be so difficult. When they were reading, step by step what had happened, you could reflect back. It was painful.'
She said what Simiao did was inhuman, and that no normal human being could do what he did to Samane.
Mjiyako added that it will be Samane's birthday on Tuesday when sentencing begins, which will not be an easy day for her mother.
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