GQEBERHA – The Motherwell aunt, Christine Prins (25), who allegedly kidnapped her niece, Abigail Prins (6), from her home before Abigail passed away in her care, appeared briefly at the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court today, 20 April, for her formal bail application with her co-accused and boyfriend, Teboho Ramanki.
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The pair face charges of murder; however, Prins faces an additional charge of kidnapping.
According to SAPS spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg, on Saturday, 21 March, Christine visited her sister Joline at her home and the following morning, 22 March, it was discovered that both Abigail and her aunt, Christine, were no longer at the house.
“After all efforts to trace Abigail had been exhausted, the matter was reported to Motherwell SAPS, where a case of kidnapping was opened for further investigation,” she said.
Another SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana, added that FCS detectives followed up on information regarding two persons of interest believed to be in Makhanda, which resulted in the arrest of the two accused.
“The suspects were subsequently transported back to Gqeberha for further investigation,” she said. “On Friday, 10 April 2026, the investigation led to the discovery of the body of a child in a shallow grave at St George’s Beach.”
The Legal Aid defence attorney made two applications to the court. He stated that after consulting with both of the accused, the accused had to be separated to allow each to be represented by their own defence attorney as there was a conflict of interest.
The defence attorney was approached for confirmation of what the conflict of interest was but declined to answer, stating that the client confidentiality agreement prevents him from sharing more on the matter.
The defence attorney who elected to represent Prins made the application to the court requesting that the matter be postponed to allow Ramanki sufficient time to get another Legal Aid representative, as he could not represent both. “We will seek Judicare appointment in respect of Ramanki,” he said.
In his second application to the court, the defence attorney requested that the State provide all official statements implicating Christine to determine how his client is linked to the crime.
The State prosecutor present in court stated that the prosecutor assigned to the matter was absent and that the formal bail application that was set for today would have to be postponed until a date when the original prosecutor was available.
Speaking briefly to the mother of Abigail, Joline Prins, she expressed her heartbreak at the situation. “I am very heartbroken and saddened by what those people did to my child and they must receive justice,” she said.
The matter was remanded until 28 April for the allocation of Ramanki’s defence counsel and the formal bail application for both of the accused. They remain in custody.
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