In the first incident, which happened on 25 August in Hendrina, a body of a 11-year-old girl was found with stab wounds after she was reported missing.
The Mpumalanga government has decried the recent spate of attacks on young girls, one of which was raped and another one raped and murdered in Tonga and Hendrina respectively.
In the first incident, which happened on 25 August in Hendrina, a body of an 11-year-old girl was found with stab wounds after she was reported missing.
A 27-year-old suspect, has since been arrested in connection with the murder after blood was found in his shack, located about 100 metres from where the body was found.
According to police, the suspect was out on R5 000 bail for the alleged murder of a 31-year-old man in February.
On 2 September, two girls – aged 16 and 17 – were reportedly raped by an armed suspect on their way to school in Tonga and Hendrina.
READ: Suspect appears in court for allegedly raping a three-year-old at Bloemfontein pre-school
In another incident, on 27 August 2024 a body of a young woman was found near the notorious R573 Moloto Road in Kwaggafontein, in the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.
According to police, a preliminary investigation suggests that some parts of her body could have been removed, however, a postmortem is still to be conducted to get more clarity.
In 2022, residents of the area were gripped by fears of a serial killer when at least three bodies were discovered dumped on the same spot next to the road.
No one was arrested in connection with the murders, with police pointing to indications that the victims were murdered elsewhere and dumped along R573 Moloto Road.
Jackie Macie, MEC for community safety, security and liaison, said the attacks were distressful and pleaded that the law take its course to ensure the prosecution of the perpetrators of these gruesome crimes.
He lauded police for the swift arrest of the suspect linked to the rape and murder of the 11-year-old child and called on police to ensure the arrest of the suspects in other attacks.
READ: Minor accused of Deveney Nel’s murder faced a rape charge four years ago
Macie said:
We cannot fail these young people as government. We need to do all that we can to ensure that their aggressors face the full might of law. The two young people were on their way to school to study when the ordeal took place. Now their future might be affected due to this traumatic experience. These perpetrators of crime have no place in our community. We cannot have people who, instead of protecting our children, torment them.
He said the deployment of crime prevention wardens will strengthen the existing policing structures to curb crimes and locate wanted crime suspects throughout the province.
The MEC said:
These wardens are expected to assist the police deal with crime quicker. Most of these perpetrators of crimes are known in communities, and sometimes communities are afraid to speak. We believe that the deployment of these [wardens] will strengthen the turnaround time of solving criminal cases.
Sipho Mabena
www.news24.com
