Note to Editors: Please note Sakhile Mngadi, MPL sound bites in English and isiZulu
The DA calls on KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, to ensure the immediate arrest of a suspect following the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl at an Esikhawini school.
The incident, reported to the DA by the child’s mother, is believed to have taken place at Mizikayifani Primary School on 25 April. Yet, despite the horrific claim, neither KZN’s Department of Education (DoE) or SAPS appear to have acted to date.
There are moments in a nation’s story where silence becomes complicity. This is one of those moments – a grotesque failure of duty, conscience, and justice.
The young girl concerned was not raped on an isolated dirt pathway but within the very walls of her school. A place that should be a sanctuary of knowledge and protection became the backdrop to a brutal violation.
Today, the alleged perpetrator – described by the child as a “much older boy” – still walks freely and routinely frequents the classroom and speaks to the teacher. His ongoing presence is a continued threat to every child within this school.
Despite this, the school has offered no protection while the DoE has offered no accountability. And in a bitter indictment of the entire system, the victim’s mother has had to remove her daughter from school to keep her safe.
This is not an isolated tragedy. It echoes the horrific Cwecwe case – another instance where the system turned a blind eye while young girls were preyed upon.
KZN’s DoE continues to preside over schools where rape culture is not only present but seemingly protected by bureaucratic inertia and institutional apathy. The question is: How many young girls’ lives must be shattered before the system acts?
The DA demands immediate action from Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi. The suspect must be arrested for questioning without delay while this investigation must be prioritised and fast-tracked. Every moment this individual remains within reach of another child is a moment of state-sanctioned endangerment.
As part of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) the DA will insist on a full DoE enquiry into the school’s failure to report and act on this horrific crime. We will also insist on trauma counselling and support for the victim and her family.
This is not a matter of politics – it is a matter of our children’s right to exist without fear. The DA will not allow this horror to be buried beneath the usual tide of bureaucratic indifference.