Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize has expressed outrage at the alleged rape of an eight-year-old girl in Gingindlovu in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the police report, the girl had been dragged into a sugarcane field allegedly by a 15-year-old schoolboy attending the same school. The girl's eyes were severely damaged after her assailant tried to gouge them out.
After the attack on Monday, the Grade 2 pupil dragged herself to her home, where she collapsed in front of her grandmother.
As the incident happened a few days before the country marks Freedom Day, Mkhize warned that the quest for freedom could not be complete if our country was plagued by social ills that such as child molestation, rape and teenage pregnancies.
"Cabinet has mobilised various government departments to attend to issues such as the welfare challenges of vulnerable children including the abused and orphaned, youth in distress, homeless children, those from unstable families and those in conflict with the law in order to create safety nets to save them from joining the pool from which hardened criminals recruit," Mkhize said.
Mkhize called on communities to stand up and unite in a public display of disapproval of this sheer brutality.
"The spirit of civic responsibility and pride which leads to citizens, especially the youth, to respect and obey the law and value human lives must be built throughout the province. Without this, reducing social ills will remain a huge challenge.
"There is a strong role of parents, leaders of society including traditional and religious leaders. The teachings from the family must emphasize human values of respect and caring for a fellow human being.
"Normal socialization is about creating a human being capable of showing and sharing affection, warmth and friendship. It is such individuals that will create a caring and humane society that we desire," he said.
The premier has dispatched senior government officials from various government departments to the area to ensure that the victim and her family are provided with the necessary professional care during this traumatic period.
Mkhize and members of Cabinet are scheduled to visit the victim in Empangeni on Friday morning.
