Likhona Fose. Ntando Tlhapi. Bokgabo Poo. Masego Kgomo. Nqobile Zulu and Tshiamo Rabanye. Bontle Mashiyane. Junior Mabandla. Amantle Samane. Masego Kgomo.
These are some of the names of innocent children who either went missing, were killed, kidnapped and mutilated. South Africa is haunted by the names of children who lost their lives in brutal, senseless ways — a reflection of a deeply broken society.
These innocent names should not be a marker of a nation’s shame, but here we are.
On Sunday the mutilated body of 14-year-old Likhona Fose was discovered in the veld in Durban Deep, Roodepoort. Her fate has added to the endless list of unknown and unreported deaths of children at the hands of barbaric killers who harvest their body parts. It remains unclear why, though muti is the common blame.
The grade 8 pupil from Ikusasalethu Secondary School has once again brought to light the decay in the moral fibre of this country. How crimes are executed is not only cruel but disheartening.
We have to be concerned that, as a nation, our most vulnerable are not safe in our hands. From killings, poisonings and neglect, the future of this country is being robbed of reaching its full potential. These names reflect a pattern of national failure that requires urgent attention and intervention.
It’s not just violence but the burden of silence too. Silence from the government, strategy and activism from the police and pushback from the community. The names bear weight, but they are too few and far between as the public mourns momentarily and pays attention to cases that are brought to light through news and social media.
The killings are so regular and bizarre that there is now a culture of helplessness and desensitisation. But the names do not disappear, at least not to their loved ones — they linger, beg for justice and sometimes vanish without even getting close.
When will the leaders of this country take care of children?
This is a charge on our nation — we learn about an issue and move on. Equally, it is an indictment of the kind of nation we have become, so overwhelmed that news is just that, information, but not a cause for action or a call for change.
Masego Kgomo was murdered in the same fashion in 2009, yet more than a decade later, Fose and others are victims of such a crime. It’s a fish market, children are abducted, mutilated and tossed away as if they do not matter.
How these crimes are committed should not only raise our hair but also raise our voices and action. The ritualistic undertones should bring about a call for change.
How sick are some people that they not only kill but also chop up innocent people for twisted commercialisation?
How bad is the poverty, lawlessness, brokenness that a little girl can make news not for her achievements but horrific her death?
When will the leaders of this country take care of children? Was the food poisoning scourge not enough?
How much must we take before we are fed up?
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