More than a year after the butchered body of little Tazne van Wyk was found, alleged child killer Moehydien Pangaker is set to go on trial at the Western Cape High Court.
Pangaker, 55, who faces 20 charges which include rape, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice dating back to 2016, returned to court on Friday where he was informed that the trial will commence on 31 May this year.
The Grade 3 pupil from Eurecon Primary School went missing on 7 February 2020 when she was snatched just metres from her home in Clare Street, Ravensmead.
Hundreds of mense flocked to the area to help search for the girl who had vanished without a trace.
Pangaker’s relatives told cops that at the same time, he had also disappeared and police went on the hunt for him.
He was later arrested in Cradock in the Eastern Cape and while on his way to Cape Town, he told cops where to find Tazne’s body.
Tears of disbelief flowed when it was confirmed that the body of the eight-year-old meisie was found dumped in a stormwater drain in Worcester.
Shocking court documents revealed that Tazne had been raped, killed and her hand cut off just a day after she went missing.
In the first rape case against him, Pangaker is accused of raping a woman on a veldjie in Ladismith in 2016.
According to the indictment, during the period between 2016 and 2019, Pangaker also allegedly raped a minor girl.
He is accused of raping the child four times in Ladismith where he also took her to a dam where he sexually assaulted her and raped her several more times.
In 2019, he allegedly tied the same child up in a house in Worcester and threatened to kill her if she reported the rapes.
He has also been charged with incest for impregnating a relative.
Tazne’s mom Carmen said yesterday that she is relieved that the trial date has been set.
“It has been really long with all the postponements. We are ready for the trial and we hope justice will be served,” she said.
Community Safety MEC, Albert Fritz, also welcomed the news of the impending trial and commended SAPS on the successful investigation into Tazne’s murder.
“I hope that this brings some peace of mind to the Van Wyk family who have suffered an immeasurable loss,” he said.
monique.duval@inl.co.za