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While Cape Town grapples with the murders of two little girls in less than two weeks and another girl gone missing, forensic pathologists revealed the stats that paint a shocking picture for the safety of our children in this country.

The records show that in the past six months, 193 cases involving children and teens have been investigated, 86 of which were homicides.

Those numbers are alarmingly high. We are utterly failing our children.

On January 30, 12-year-old Firdous Kleinsmidt, who was in Grade 7 at Ieglaasi Nieyah Primary School in Mitchells Plain, was shot and killed while waiting for her school bus. Lorenzo Brown, 27, is facing a charge of murder for this, with the State revealing that he had actually beaten a previous case of murder, which was provisionally withdrawn in 2022.

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said the criminal justice system fails to rehabilitate or keep criminals behind bars.

Then, 11-year-old Monneashia Prins went missing on February 9 from Ithemba Farms informal settlement. She was last seen allegedly walking with her neighbour, 18-year-old Mikaeel Oliver, who just this week made a chilling confession in court after being charged with her murder.

The child’s body was found a day after she vanished, hidden in a canal.

This week the search continues for six-year-old Joshlin Smith from Saldanha on the West Coast, who was last seen on February 19.

She had been left at home with her mother’s boyfriend due to being ill, but when the mother returned from work, her daughter was not there. The massive search is still ongoing.

#MCSAMissing

Joslin Smith (7) was last seen 19 February 2024

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— Missing Children SA (@072MISSING) February 20, 2024

Megan Davids, communications officer: emergency and clinical services support, Department of Health and Wellness, explained that their forensic department had said:

“Our primary function is cause of death determination, but we continue to support and promote interventions to impact child deaths through pivotal collaborations.”

It was noted that over the past six months, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness Forensic Pathology Services recorded 523 tragic deaths involving children (infants to 17 years old).

“Accidents, homicide, suicide, and sudden unexpected death in infancy (Sudi) were among the circumstance of death. A number of deaths are currently still under investigation. This is due to additional investigation required to inform the final cause of death determination.”

She tabled the following: accidents – 88 deaths; homicide – 86 deaths; suicide – 18 deaths; road traffic incidents – 65 deaths; Sudi – 8 deaths; natural causes – 65 deaths; and, under investigation – 193 deaths.

Siya Monakali, of Ilitha Labantu, which advocates for the rights of women and children, said they were deeply concerned about the latest data which also reflected the crime situation in the province, fuelled by socio-economic circumstances.

“The information provided by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness Forensic Pathology Services paints just a limited picture of the current crisis facing children in South Africa.”

True to that, the recently released crime statistics for the reporting period of October and December 2023, revealed that 285 children were murdered, with 426 attempted murder cases recorded during those 90 days, too.

“Violence in South Africa has reached incomprehensible scales and the most vulnerable members of society (children) suffer the most.”

A decline in social conditions like poverty and unemployment further exacerbates violence and has a direct bearing on the lives of children.

“When we look at violence and oppression, we see children who come from communities with high rates of poverty, unemployment and lack of adequate resources suffer the most.

Siya stated that a lot more needs to be done to improve the status of children in our society through meaningful collaboration between government, the private sector and civil society.

[source:iol]