Limpopo mother faces court for allegedly poisoning her two young sons

A Limpopo woman is expected to apply for bail after appearing in the Tshilwavhusiku Magistrate’s Court for the murder of her children, who were allegedly poisoned. 

Thelma Siphugu Ntanganedzeni, 27, made her first court appearance on Friday, June 5. 

According to the provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, police opened a murder investigation after the two brothers were found dead in separate incidents on Tuesday, June 2.

“At about 11.10am, police were summoned to Tshilwavhusiku Health Centre following a report of a patient suspected to have been poisoned. On arrival, they were shown the lifeless body of a six-year-old boy lying on a bed,” Ledwaba said. 

Preliminary police reports indicated that the child’s father, with whom he does not reside, transported him to the clinic at about 9.20am, after the child complained of stomach pains, diarrhoea, and vomiting earlier that morning. 

“Later, at about 12.30pm, police received a complaint from a family member regarding a missing eight-year-old male victim while at school. A search was conducted in the area, and the victim was found dead at his home in Madabani village,” Ledwaba said. 

Police said the child was lying on a bed wearing a blue tracksuit top and long tracksuit trousers. Emergency Medical Services personnel declared the child dead at the scene. 

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the two deceased are siblings from Madabani village, and both are suspected to have been poisoned. Police investigations immediately commenced and subsequently led to the arrest of a 27-year-old female, alleged to be the mother of the two victims, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026,” Ledwaba said. 

A forensic pathology post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

The motive behind the incident remains unclear.

Ledwaba said police investigations into the incident continue. 

The matter against Ntanganedzeni was postponed until Friday, June 12, for bail application and further police investigations. 

She has been remanded in custody. 

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