A man accused of murdering his two-day-old baby girl by using the infant as a weapon against her mother, appeared briefly in court at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria.

Alexander Forba Nde, 32, from Cameroon, is charged with murder and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

“The accused started assaulting the woman at the flat where they reside,” prosecutor Sipho Letsoalo said.

“They then went to a nearby Engen garage. The accused followed the complainant, who was carrying the baby and started assaulting her again.

“He took the baby and starting smashing the baby on the woman’s body, until there was intervention [from onlookers]. He then threw the baby on the floor and continued assaulting the woman.”

The infant was declared dead on arrival at the Kalafong hospital.

Letsoalo asked that the case be postponed for certain facts to be verified, including whether the man’s asylum seeker permit was authentic.

Nde, speaking only in pigeon English, indicated that he required legal aid.

The heavy-set, muscular man looked at his feet when escorted into court by correctional services officers and sported a bruise on his cheek. He stood wringing his hands behind his back throughout proceedings.

The mother of the child, who is also from Cameroon, is reportedly being cared for by her two sisters and a local pastor.