Cape Town - Peaceful protests outside court may turn ugly if the government does not intervene to stop the rape and murder of children, the Mitchells Plain Crisis Forum said.
Forum members and several residents protested outside the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court where a 49-year-old man appeared in connection with the rape of a 5-year-old girl.
The incident took place on Sunday and the man was arrested after the child was able to identify him.
She was playing outside her home when he allegedly snatched her. She is recovering at home, but her great uncle said she was very traumatised.
“She sometimes wakes up shaking and is still clearly traumatised by it. Her mother, and especially her grandmother, were affected by this and they had to be seen by a doctor.”
Forum chairperson Joanie Fredericks said they have had enough of hearing about the rape of a child each week.
“We have been asking government to get involved. While our protests are peaceful, they might just push us over the edge because we cannot protest again for another broken body, outside this same court.”
She said the case was disturbing because the accused was a soft-spoken man that the little girl called uncle. In court the accused claimed he was assaulted while in custody and had bruises to his face, arms and ribs.
He was remanded to the Strandfontein police station and will return to court on August 30 after an identification parade.
The accused was heckled by people in the courtroom as he was taken back to the cells.
Spokesperson for the family Melanie Pietersen said that while the family was still in shock, she was pleasantly surprised by how they handled the proceedings.
“I am very glad that it was very calm because it could have been worse in court. It’s traumatising for them to see this man.”
Forum spokesperson Faizel Brown said it was important that the community, especially men, supported the family when they attended court .
“It is very important that the men are here. Most of them are fathers and brothers of women and young girls and this is not acceptable.”