Special units to probe child murders in the Western Cape

Special units to collate and analyse unanswered questions about child murders could be on the cards for the Western Cape.

The province has been haunted by the high number of killings this year. The units will be based at the University of Cape Town‚ Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape.

Premier Helen Zille met with child protection NGOs on Wednesday to address the problem.

"At the heart of the discussion was whether establishing a commission of inquiry into child killings would be the most effective way to address the problem‚'' a statement by her office read.

"There was consensus that extensive research had already been conducted by various bodies into violence against children. Much of the existing research points to perpetrators in child murder cases being known to the victims or trusted by the families. In some cases‚ harm was inflicted by parents and relatives."

The units will collate information and it will be determine whether problems should be dressed through a commission of inquiry.

One of the latest victims in the province is an unnamed baby who had lived for just a few hours. On Saturday his mother allegedly strangled him and hid his body under a mattress at their home in Mitchells Plain.

The woman has four other children and has been arrested. According to the provincial social development department the other children are now living with a relative.

"We condemn this brutal murder and the alleged circumstances of this incident in the strongest terms possible. That the alleged murderer is allegedly the mother of the baby is most outrageous‚'' a statement by the department read.