Heartbreaking find: Baby Keamogetse Setshego's remains discovered after 5 years

• The SAPS in the North West has found remains they believe belong to a baby that went missing five years ago
• Baby Keamogetse Setshego and her mother went missing in Kabe village near Mahikeng on 29 April 2019
• One of the five suspects linked to the alleged murders reportedly led the police to the infant's location

Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered police investigations and current affairs on the radio for over 15 years.

The remains of baby Keamogetse Setshego, who went missing five years ago, were found in a pit latrine in the North West. Images: Stock Images. Source: Getty Images

North West police have found the remains of baby Keamogetse Setshego, who went missing five years ago, in a pit toilet.

SAPS search for baby's remains

Forensic teams reportedly found the infant's remnants in Kabe village near Mahikeng. The baby and her 27-year-old mother, Yvonne Setshego, went missing on 29 April 2019. According to News 24, the mother's remains were found in a pit toilet in the same village a month after their disappearance. The remains of Dokky Motsamai (45), who was thought to be a witness in the duo's disappearance, were also discovered on 21 April 2019.

Four people allegedly linked to the murders appeared before the Molopo Magistrate's Court on 26 June 2024. Police arrested Goitseone Seletedi (28), Mmapula Seletedi (29), Lorato Molefe (37) and Lesego Seletedi (39) in Mocoseng, near Mahikeng, on 15 June 2024. According to SABC News, a fifth suspect, John Motsamai, was arrested on 24 June 2024.

The SAPS said one of the accused led officers to the toilet where the infant's remains. Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone reportedly said the remains would be sent for DNA testing:

"The remains will now be subject to DNA testing so we can confirm if it is, in fact, the baby."

A Bloemfontein hospital incorrectly declared a newborn dead

Briefly News reported that South Africans were split on the action that needed to be taken against a Free State hospital that falsely declared a newborn dead.

The baby's father said a day after his child's birth, the hospital told them that the baby had passed.

Boitumelo Kgabale said three days later, the facility's officials contacted them to inform them that their newborn was still alive.