GQEBERHA – Motherwell girl Abigail Prins (6), who was allegedly kidnapped from her home on 22 March 2026, was found in a shallow grave at St George’s Beach on Friday, 10 April. Her aunt Christine Prins (25) and Christine’s boyfriend Teboho Ramanke (31) appeared today, 13 April, at Motherwell Magistrate’s Court charged with her murder.
The court heard that the two accused face charges of murder; however, Christine faces charges of kidnapping as well after she allegedly took her niece without the permission of her sister, Joline Prins, on Sunday morning, 22 March 2026.
In a statement, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said, “FCS detectives followed up on information regarding two persons of interest believed to be in Makhanda. The information was operationalised, leading to the arrest of a 25-year-old female and a 31-year-old male. The suspects were subsequently transported back to Gqeberha for further investigation.”
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Joline briefly told PE Express that the murder of her daughter, Abigail, broke her.
“At this point, I just want both of them to spend the rest of their lives in prison for what they did to my daughter,” she said. “How could she do this? To her own blood even? I did not expect this from her at all.”
Ramanke’s mother, Vuyokazi, said that the news of the murder of Abigail broke them, particularly the involvement Teboho allegedly had in it. “This did not make sense,” she said, as she did not know Teboho to be the type of person to commit such a crime. “You can ask my family who were with me in court about Teboho and they will tell you that he was a good boy.
“We came here to hear the truth because this is not the Teboho we know,” she said. “Teboho was someone who would collect and sell scrap metal and do odd jobs here and there to make money. He was afraid of anything to do with law enforcement.”
When asked about the relationship between Christine and Teboho, Vuyokazi wished that the two had never crossed paths. “We only knew about their relationship last year after she was allegedly impregnated by Teboho. Ever since they met, he has been willingly living in the bush with her,” she said.
Claiming that she had known that the one-year relationship between Prins and Ramanke would have no good outcome, she said, “We suffered as a family, having to find ways to locate them wherever they were.”
As broken as she was, Vuyokazi said that Teboho chose Christine over his family.
The pair stated in court that they have no prior convictions or pending cases.
The court heard that the verification of addresses and investigation into whether the pair had any previous convictions or pending cases are still ongoing.
The matter was remanded until 20 April for their formal bail application. They both remain in custody.
