THE family of a four-year-old girl who was found dead in the bushes in Thornwood is struggling to come to terms with the gruesome murder of their little girl.
Anele Jali went missing when she was playing in the area with other children.
The Thornwood community who were shocked about the gruesome discovery united last Thursday to march against child and women abuse with Grade R pupils from Bhaqalesizwe Primary School.
This comes a month after the body of a five-year-old boy (Siyanda Gcabashe) was found hanged in a nearby area.
Thulebona Jali, Anele’s father who was still traumatised about the news said Anele was playing with her friends outside the house.
“At about 4pm I called her to come and eat and she was nowhere to be seen. We looked for her in the area and could not find her.
“The children she was playing with had no idea where she disappeared to. I called her grandmother to tell her that the child had disappeared and also went to the police station,” he said.
Anele lived in Dassenhoek with her grandmother.
Jali said he had no idea who would kill his child and for what reason.
“At least we found her body and buried it. The days when we were still looking were very hard for us.”
Ward 15 secretary, Nada Ngcobo said the community will not rest until the person responsible for this crime is behind bars.
“We can not just sit and do nothing when we witness this kind of cruelty in our area.
“Just last month a 5-year-old boy was found hanged in this area and till today no one has been arrested. We need to pray and stand together as a community because I believe that the people who are doing this are here in our community.
“This is just disgusting, how can you rape a four-year-old? This means our children are not safe. We are even scared to send them to schools as we do not know if they will come back alive,” said Ncgobo.
Mariannhill SAPS communications officer, Trevor Govender said no arrests have been made yet, however police are still investigating.
