What you need to know about the death of Tazne van Wyk
Shock waves continue to be felt across South Africa after a man accused of killing eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk appeared in court on Friday.
Here is what you need to know:
Disappearance
Van Wyk vanished without a trace near her home in Elsies River, Cape Town, nearly two weeks ago while going to a local tuck shop.
TimesLIVE reported that she made it to the shop but somewhere on her way back, with her lollipop in hand, she disappeared.
South Africa PODCAST | Eight steps into the clutches of a monster — where is Tazné van Wyk? 4 years ago |
Suspect arrested
A 54-year-old suspect linked to her disappearance was arrested on Tuesday.
Captain Lariane Jonker confirmed the arrest, saying: “This office can confirm that the suspect, who can allegedly be linked to the disappearance of the minor child, was arrested in the Cradock police precinct on February 17 2020 about 10.15pm,”
Dead body discovered
The child's body was found in a storm water drain near the N1 after police interviewed the suspect.
TimesLIVE reported on Thursday that Brig Novela Potelwa said further interviewing of the suspect by detectives led to the gruesome discovery of the body in a storm water pipe outside Worcester on Wednesday night.
Suspect served time before
The department of correctional services' spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, said the suspect had served half of a 10-year sentence for culpable homicide and kidnapping when he was granted parole, but he later disappeared.
Nxumalo told eNCA the suspect was released on parole in October 2016 and placed under correctional supervision.
'Who is next?'
Van Wyk's aunt, Samantha Viljoen, in an interview on SABC, posed a question to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking how many more children should die before he takes serious steps.
“How many more children? Why don’t they bring back the death penalty? It’s not right. He [the suspect] is now going to have a nice life [in prison]. Now we’re working for him, the one killing our children.
“Who is coming out [on parole] in December, Mr President?” she asked.
Justice for Van Wyk
More than 30,000 people have signed a petition demanding justice for Van Wyk.
The petition by SA Women Fight Back was started on Thursday and the target number of signatures is 35,000.
“SA Women Fight Back strongly opposes bail for the accused in this matter, and calls for harsher punishment for crimes such as these against our children and women in this country.
“We have had enough. We want to keep our children safe."