Cape Town - Engcobo Magistrate's Court has postponed the murder case of 32-year-old Nomboleko Simayile, who is accused of bludgeoning her four children with a sledgehammer.
The four children were killed on Wednesday.
The accused had told her father that she had killed her two boys and two girls, aged between 5 and 11.
They had been sleeping with her in a rondavel at heir homestead at Tsalaba Area in the district of Ngcobo, while her aged parents were sleeping in a separate flat within the same homestead.
The father alerted his wife and summoned community members after making the gruesome discovery of his grandchildren. All of them had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer.
Prosecutor Lindelwa Totyi told the court the accused was facing a Schedule 6 offence and therefore bail was opposed.
The accused will remain in custody until her next court appearance on November 17. She faces four counts of murder.
The family of the accused were among those who attended her court appearance, including the members of the community.
Her family described her as a good person who loved her children. When she got married to another man she took care of the children and as a grandparents they don't know what led to her killing her own kids.
In assisting the family, the Eastern Cape's Department of Social Development Minister, Bukiwe Fanta, said they will be speaking to the family and give them counselling and help with funeral arrangements either on Thursday or Friday next week.
"We are going to visit the home because on Wednesday we couldn't go but we did send social workers. The local municipality has committed to take care of the funeral arrangements because this burden is too much for the family," Fanta said.