Chairperson, the recent spate of murders of young children, including Sheldean Human, Annastacia Wiese, Thato Radebe, Marissa Naidoo, Michaela Ganchi, Stephen Sibert, the grand-child of Judge Ngoepe, and many others have shocked our country and all its people.
In many instances these murders were committed by people known to these innocent children. We, as a society, need to question what has happened to the morality and values of members in the communities who commit such atrocious crimes.
The solidarity of our communities is seen in the widespread demonstrations and outrage against this growing evil in our midst. The importance of family life and respect for all human life in our society are the cornerstones of our young democracy, and should be protected at all costs.
Now is the time to stand together as a nation and rid our society of such brutal and senseless killings of our children. We need to support our police service to successfully arrest the guilty persons and to allow our courts to punish those found guilty of such heinous crimes with the harsh sentences they deserve. I thank you.