Yet another life of a child is lost in the senseless killing of four-year-old Bokgabo Poo, whose body was found in an open veld in Tamboville, near Benoni, on the East Rand last week.
Her life was cut short in the most violent manner with her family saying the birth mark on her chest and a missing tooth helped to identify her severely mutilated body.
Bokgabo is not the only victim of such a heinous and barbaric crime and her death only adds to a growing tally of children murdered in this country and we reflect on some of the lives lost on our front page today.
In June, little Bontle Mashiyane was laid to rest in Mpumalanga after her mutilated body was found not far from her house. Bontle's neighbour Ntombikayise Ngwenya, her boyfriend and serial offender Collen Hlongwane – who was out on parole at the time of Bontle's murder – and their friend Thapelo Ngomane were arrested for her murder.
In Bokgabo's case, alleged killer Ntokozo Zikhale, 30, appeared in the Benoni magistrate's court yesterday, charged with kidnapping, rape, murder and defeating the ends of justice and violation of a corpse. Not much is known yet about Zikhale's history of crime.
It may be little comfort for her parents, but it is encouraging that the police apprehended the alleged killer who must face the full might of the law.
The justice and parole system must work together to lay down a marker that such heinous crimes will not be tolerated. We believe harsh punishment through lengthy jail sentences will go a long way in discouraging other criminals preying on innocent children.
Tragically, as we have seen in Bontle's case, our parole system, which is anchored on rehabilitation, has often failed to do this by releasing monsters back to society only for them to commit more crimes.
We need the justice system and the police to work together to stop these murders of children and restore people's faith in the rule of law. Apart from strengthening the system to make the streets safer for our children, we also need to empower communities to battle this monster called crime and take the streets back for the future of our country.
This battle against child murders is one we are committed to fully working with the authorities and society to defeat in service of the country. We must stop these barbaric killings now.
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