Cape Town - Anene Booysen, Kayde Williams and now Elna Jaftha.
The three girls were all murdered in the “sleepy town” of Bredasdorp in just more than two years.
Fourteen-year-old Elna’s body was found bundled in a blanket and stuffed under a bed in Zwelitsha informal settlement, Bredasdorp, on Sunday morning.
Elna’s murder followed that of 17-year-old Anene in 2013 and five-year-old Kayde in February this year.
Questions have now been raised about how Elna ended up living with her 27-year-old Zimbabwean boyfriend in a small shack in Zwelitsha informal settlement for two years. The man has since been charged with murder.
Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chairperson Michael Olivier said Elna had been living with the 27-year-old after she ran away from home and dropped out of De Heide Primary School two years ago.
On Sunday, neighbours contacted the police after hearing a commotion in the shack that Elna and the man shared.
“Police found the door was locked, so they kicked it down. They searched the shack and found her body under the bed,” he said.
Police spokesperson André Traut confirmed that a 27-year-old man had been arrested for murder on Sunday. Olivier added: “Bredasdorp has lots of organisations to protect our communities, but there is definitely a lack of something.
“There is fear in the community. There’s been Anene and Kayde, and now Elna. People wonder who will be next.”
Kayde was murdered in February. She was beaten to death with a heavy, blunt object. A suspect, Nicholas Kobus, hanged himself a week later, but it was since established that the DNA found on Kayde’s body did not match his.
Anene’s body was found on February 3, 2013. She had been raped, mutilated and left for dead. Johannes Kana, 24, was sentenced to two life sentences for raping and murdering Anene.
On Monday, a delegation from Cape Agulhas Municipality visited the Jaftha family.
Mayco member Raymond Mokotwana said: “Elna had run away from home. I understand there were problems at home. Her father is in jail.”
Mokotwana admitted that the authorities needed to do more to address social ills in Bredasdorp. “We have many programmes, but more can be done to educate people about them,” he said.
Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato agreed.
“Much more needs to be done to address the social ills of Bredasdorp,” he said.
Plato said that as Child Protection Week started on Monday it was clear that the focus should be on educating men.
“We now see more than 95 incidents of women being raped every week.
“We are not doing enough to educate men,” he said.
Western Cape Social Development MEC Albert Fritz said: “Tragically, the discovery of the body comes as we mark the beginning of national Child Protection Week. As we commemorate Child Protection Week, we continue to urge parents to play the greatest role in ensuring we protect our children.
“The department will continue to play its part as guided by the Children’s Act of 2005. However, we cannot do it alone.”
Cape Times