Lolitha Kowa murder: CODETA vows to tighten screening after one of its drivers fingered
Odwa Jack and his girlfriend, Nokuthula Matyeseni, were arrested last Wednesday after the body of a seven-year-old girl, Lolitha Kowa, was found at a dumpster in Kuyasa.
Residents of Kuyasa in Khayelitsha outside the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court where the two people accused of the rape and murder of seven-year-old Lolitha Kowa made their first appearance on 25 July 2025. Picture: Ntuthuzelo Nene/EWN
CAPE TOWN - The Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA) has promised to tighten its grip on the screening of its taxi drivers, after one of them was linked to the murder of a child in Khayelitsha.
Odwa Jack and his girlfriend, Nokuthula Matyeseni, were arrested last Wednesday after the body of a seven-year-old girl, Lolitha Kowa, was found at a dumpster in Kuyasa.
She was last seen playing with Matyeseni's daughter a day before, and when Lolitha did not return, her mother reported her missing.
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The State said the couple was linked to the murder after bloodstains, believed to be that of the deceased child, were found at their house and inside a taxi driven by Jack.
CODETA's Thobile Ndwalaza said such characters give the organisation a bad name and won't be tolerated.
"We are not going to allow anyone, including Odwa, to drive our taxis anymore. Now we're going to screen everyone, that's what we're going to do."
The State is opposing the couple's release on bail, and the case has been postponed for the verification of their alternative address.
Their home has been burned down, allegedly by angry residents.