East London - South African Police Service (SAPS) management in the Eastern Cape have appealed to the community to assist with any information that can lead to the arrest of those responsible for the brutal rape and murder this week of a six-year-old girl in Mdantsane in East London in the Eastern Cape.
SAPS Eastern Cape spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said the child had been on her way to a local shop on Monday to buy sweets when she was raped and murdered.
The child was later found dead along a road “in one of the units” in Mdantsane. Eastern Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga ordered a 72-hour activation of all SAPS resources in order to bring a speedy conclusion to the investigation and the arrest of those implicated.
The Eastern Cape SAPS management had also ordered senior officers, including the local police station commander, to visit the family of the young girl.
Community members have voiced their unhappiness on social media at police for the manner in which the investigation has been handled, accusing them of not giving the matter the attention it served.
The family, and in particular the mother of the child, were in constant communication with the investigating officers who provided her with regular updates on the progress made in the investigation, Kinana said.
"Meanwhile, the SAPS rejects with contempt the circulating social media reports which have been making outrageous and baseless accusations against the station commander of Vulindlela as uncaring and irresponsible.
"Such scurrilous reports have also been dismissed by the mother of the child who described those who propagated these allegations as nothing but well calculated lies aimed at sowing seeds of discontent and confusion between the police and the bereaved family," Kinana said.
Ntshinga warned against reckless and irresponsible use of social media network platforms by some people "to achieve their own selfish ambitions".
Such speculation and misinformation had the potential to not only mislead the SAPS investigators, but also to demoralise and make families lose confidence in the ability of the police to crack the case. She appealed to the community to give the detectives a chance to work on the investigation.
"This is a very sensitive matter which must not be used to evoke emotions and public ire. The family deserves respect on their matter so that eventually they can find peace and closure about their child,” Ntshinga said.
African News Agency (ANA)