Programme Director,
All Deputy Provincial Commissioners
All SAPS Senior Officers and Officials present, Members of the Traditional House present, Members of the CPF’s present, Civil Society organisations present, Members of the Media present, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning,
The heart breaking news of children who became victims of rapes of late in the province has been giving the management of the police serious concerns and many sleepless nights have been endured with a sole aim of curbing what was becoming a trend. Raping a child does not only traumatise the victim, it also has all the ingredients of making the victim vulnerable for the rest of her life.
Whenever rape occurs, the wrath of the justice system is ignited. We have prioritised rape cases to equal that of murders and all serious crime, and we have directed our energies into putting the perpetrators behind bars for good.
We are happy to announce that since the reinstatement of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), this province has recorded major successes on rape cases and hefty sentences have been handed to culprits.
In the past year only the unit has recorded a whopping 57 life sentences.From April to date, the courts have already handed down 2 life sentences and with our resolve to rid of rapists in our communities we expect more similar sentences in the near future.A total of 2055 years of imprisonment have also been handed out to these criminals.
Just last week a self-proclaimed elusive Moletjie rapist has been bust. Jonas Moshabi (40), who was positively linked to 29 rape cases through DNA tests, has already appeared in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court and our spot on and precise investigation will ensure that his bail application in unsuccessful.
These successes are testament to the hard work which the police have put into the investigation of rape and all sexual related offenses.
Dedicated tracking teams have been established to hunt down rapists and are currently following positive leads which will bring the outstanding rape cases into closure.
Ritual killing is another crime which is receiving top priority treatment on the side of the police. Three weeks ago we had a summit on police killings and ritual murders which presented us with positive resolutions.
A week later we woke up to the disturbing news of the recovery of body of a 52-year-old man whose genitals where removed in Makhado. Six suspects have been arrested, one of them a traditional healer. Their case will be heard at the Makhado Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The speedy arrest of suspects was as a result of a resolution taken by members of the community during the summit that they will work with the police to curb ritual killings.
On a very sad note the police are still searching for 9-year-old Theophalas Thivhi from Tshilwavhusiku who went missing on January 14 this year. Several searches have been conducted since he was reported missing.
The community, police’s search and rescue teams, assisted by a helicopter searched the area of Maname in Siloam where the boy is suspected to have gone to. Police arrested five suspects who were believed to have lured the boy to the mountains, but their charges were withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.
We are appealing to the members of the community to assist us in searching for the boy and those with concrete evidence which can lead to the arrest or re-arrest of suspects are urged to come forward so that justice could prevail.
Task teams have also been established to deal strictly with these issues and we remain positive that we will get to the bottom of this case. Searches for the boy are still periodically taking place and as and when new information surfaces it is followed up but the whereabouts of the boy is still elusive.
With today marking the beginning of the Child Protection Week, the provincial commissioner will during this week visit a school in Bolobedu where a seven-year-old girl was raped. He will also pay a visit to Thohoyandou Children’s Home before rounding up his schedule with door-to-door campaigns and an Imbizo to be held in Westernburg and Greenside extension.
The media is invited to come so that the information which will come out of all these visits are disseminated across the province so that our communities can heed to our call of protecting the children and abide by the law.
Thank You
Address by the Provincial Commissioner of Limpopo, Lieutenant General TS Mpembe on the occasion of the launch of the Child Protection Week
