Girl (7) raped and killed in Mthwalume
According to reports, Emihle Nyawose was sent to a nearby store but never returned home.
A 27-year-old man appeared in the Umzumbe Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday last week, after allegedly kidnapping, raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl, Emihle Vuyo Nyawose in Mthwalume.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said the little girl’s lifeless body was found dumped in the bushes at Nomakhanzana area in Mthwalume with bruises on her neck on February 12.
“Police arrested a 27-year-old suspect in connection to the murder, kidnapping and rape of the seven-year-old girl. The suspect appeared before the Umzumbe Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and the case was remanded to March 22,” said Netshiunda.
According to reports, Emihle was sent to a nearby store but never returned home.
It is also alleged that the suspect, who had previously asked the child for money, was reportedly the last person seen with Emihle.
KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, described the extent of brutality against the innocent child as a barbaric act of a heartless criminal.
“It is disheartening to learn about such brutality against a child. The child was robbed of her life by a person who was supposed to protect her. The suspect betrayed the child’s trust and that of the family, and we have full confidence in the court to give him a harsh sentence for his cruelty and barbaric act. As parents, it is our responsibility to keep our children safe at all times. Let’s work together to ensure that our children always play within our sight and we must never send them on errands on their own, as there is an increase in abduction incidents, which are a reminder of the dangers that exist in our communities. As a society, it is our duty to affirm and protect these rights, ensuring that every child can reach their full potential and live a happy and fulfilling life,” said MEC Khoza, adding that that every child has a right to a safe and secure childhood, free from harm and abuse.
Khoza praised the swift action of the police who arrested a suspect linked to the brutal crime before expressing her condolences to the victim’s family.
The MEC said she also dispatched a team of social workers to provide psycho-social support, trauma debriefing, and trauma containment to the family.
Meanwhile, the founder of Women of Mthwalume, Nombuso Sibisi, who had been protesting outside Umzumbe Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, told Fever it is evident that men resent women and children in Mthwalume.
“We have been marching, raising awareness on this pandemic of violence against women and children but evidently all this falls on deaf ears. We don’t know what to do or say to convince men to stop killing the women and children of Mthwalume. We are tired and we need men who will speak to other men about this bloodshed plaguing Mthwalume,” said Sibisi.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page
