The ANC has lashed out at Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and threatened legal action to compel her to establish a commission of inquiry into child murders.
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs yesterday said this follows the murder of 5-year-old Kaithlyn Wilson, whose body was found hours after she went missing on Sunday afternoon in Riebeek Wes.
Wilson’s alleged murderer, her mother’s ex-boyfriend and his co-accused made their first court appearance yesterday in the Malmesbury Magistrate's Court.
They will appear in court again on August 8.
“We can no longer pretend that the care of children is the sole responsibility of only the families, but it is obvious that a more comprehensive strategy is required," said Jacobs. "Unfortunately, this strategy does not exist in the province.
“Our patience has been exhausted and it is now clear that the premier has no interest in appointing this much-needed commissioner, while she promised to appoint a children’s commissioner in 2009 when she was elected. She broke that promise.”
Zille’s spokesperson Michael Mpofu called it “politicking on the serious issue of child murders”.
“It is actually shameful to see how desperate the ANC is to retain some relevance in the province. We need to talk about this as a society," he said.
“A children’s commissioner, or even the SAPS, cannot be present behind closed doors in the privacy of people’s homes."