Cape Town - A debate in the provincial legislature will determine whether there will be an inquiry into child killings in the Western Cape.
Valdi van Reenen-le Roux, executive director of the Trauma Centre and the Child Protection Collaborative, said they submitted the petition to the legislature’s standing committee on petitions. “From here a debate about the establishment of a commission of inquiry into child killings, could happen,” she said.
Van Reenen-le Roux has been lobbying for a commission for a year now. She approached Premier Helen Zille about a commission of inquiry into child killings. Instead of a commission of inquiry Zille said she wants research into the killings. The research would entail an in-depth study of at least six children that were killed.
Van Reenen further said: “I understand that the premier will be having a consultative engagement with organisations but we were not invited. More children are being killed in the Western Cape. Just recently the seven-year-old Ezra Daniels was also killed in Grassy Park. Another baby was found with a smashed-in head. There is definitely a lot of anger in our communities. And it is misplaced anger towards women and children. This is why we want the commission of inquiry so that we can look at solutions to the crisis that we have in our communities,” she said.
Many organisations have since called for action to be taken against the killing of children. Joanie Fredericks, from the Mitchells Plain Crisis Forum, said: “When is this violence going to stop? Another five-year-old child was raped in Mitchells Plain.”
Roegshanda Pascoe a community leader from Manenberg, said: “Something urgent needs to be done to bring an end to these senseless killings. People are even scared to step out of their houses, the way they are shooting in Manenberg.”