The air is tense in Klein Nederberg, Paarl as the community gathered at a local primary school where the body of a four-year-old girl who went missing just 24 hours earlier was found in the bushes of a local primary school on Monday afternoon.
Police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk said the parents of Tamia Botha reported her missing at the Paarl East police station at 4pm on Sunday.
Police and the local community mobilised immediately in search of Tamia. It is the large search party deployed on Monday that lead to the discovery of her body.
“A search party was arranged and on Monday afternoon scholars at a primary school found her body in the bushes next to the school’s rugby field. The deceased was found with injuries to her body. A murder investigation has been opened ,” says van Wyk.
Over 500 furious residents gathered at the scene demanding justice for the slain four-year-old. Tensions were high and while the suspect is still at large, it will remain high for quite some time.
— Henri Ross (@HenriRoss7) September 26, 2022
Action Society, a non-profit organisation which helps victims of violent crime, said a spate of attacks against the vulnerable proved police were not curbing crime.
“It is bad – and it just never ends,” says renowned activist and director of community safety at Action Society, Ian Cameron. “Whatever the government and police think and announce they are doing to curb crime and hold the guilty accountable in this country is not working.”
On the same day, the body of an unidentified eight-year-old boy was found in Siqalo, Cape Town.
According to IOL, Police discovered the body and it is understood that the boy’s hands and feet were bound with tape. His eyelids had been taped closed and his mouth and chin were also covered with tape.
Cameron who recently confronted South African Minister of Police Bheki Cele about the poor standard of South African policing, along with the rest of the country, has branded Monday as “a very dark day.”
According to the organisation, almost 6500 people were murdered between April and June of this year, of which 243 are the murders of children.
The country recorded more than 9500 rape cases during the same time period, but only 286 rapists were convicted.
“We thought the previous quarter was the most brutal of the past 20 years, but looking at the past week and month, it seems this current quarter will be worse,” concludes Cameron.
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Picture: Henri Ross / Twitter