Zuma to visit family home of little Courtney Pieters

President Jacob Zuma is set to visit the home of slain three-year-old Courtney Pieters in Elsies River in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon.

The president expressed "shock and repulsion" at the brutal murder and‚ in a media statement issued shortly before his visit‚ called on communities to "isolate" perpetrators of crimes against women and children.

Courtney's body was found in a shallow grave on Saturday.

• READ MORE:Family of 3-year-old Courtney Pieters flooded with goodwill ahead of memorialA memorial service will be held for three-year-old Courtney Pieters in Elsies River on Thursday evening. 

An alleged perpetrator who had been a tenant in Pieters' family house for two years was arrested and charged with murder and rape.

"President Zuma has expressed shock and repulsion at the gruesome killing of little Courtney and has reiterated that violence against women and children has been declared a priority crime and government would deploy all its resources to ensure that perpetrators face the full might of the law‚" said the president's spokesperson‚ Bongani Ngqulunga‚ in the statement.

“We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to the Pieters family and to all other families of the women who have been brutally murdered or attacked in various ways in the past few days in parts of the country. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families during this difficult period‚" said Zuma in the statement.

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"The incidents have caused untold pain amongst South Africans and this is the time for us to unite and isolate these cruel perpetrators of this shameful and hateful crime against women and children"‚ Zuma was quoted as saying.

- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE