Peaceful protest against child killings in Diepsloot
Image: Gallo Images/iStockphoto
A peaceful protest will be held outside the police station in Diepsloot‚ north of Johannesburg‚ on Wednesday to draw attention to the killing of children in the area.
The corpse of six-year-old Ngwako Mashau‚ who was disabled‚ was found in Diepsloot last Thursday. He went missing in Diepsloot Extension One two days earlier.
“The child was reported to have been playing outside with a friend’s ball and his mother was inside the house. The child was supposedly following a friend when he walked out of the yard‚” said Mpumi Mndaweni from the non-profit National Children and Violence Trust (NCVT).
Mashau's parents and community members started searching for him‚ but could not trace his steps. They reported Mashau missing at the Diepsloot Police Station.
His death followed the discovery of the body of a 14-year-old girl on July 10. She had been raped‚ mutilated and murdered.
“The children in Diepsloot appear to be under attack and face a daily threat of being abused or killed.”
The NCVT has been working in Diepsloot for 22 years‚ offering trauma counselling to victims of violence and trauma. They are holding a peaceful protest on Wednesday to urge the police to arrest the perpetrators.