Pretoria - The courts should show little mercy to those found guilty of killing or abusing children, says Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana.
Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony for the Masego Kgomo Memorial Park in Soshanguve on Saturday, the minister called on the courts to impose the harshest possible sentences on those responsible for such crimes.
"By giving women and child abusers harsher sentences, our courts will send a message to these abusers that their actions will not be tolerated. Those who commit atrocities and murders against women and children deserve no mercy from our criminal justice system.
"They must rot in jail. They must never be allowed to share the same spaces with our children, nor must they be allowed to roam our streets," she said.
The minister's comments come ahead of the sentencing of Brian Mangwale - who was found guilty of murdering 10-year-old Masego Kgomo - by the North Gauteng High Court on Monday.
"I have made a special plea, on behalf of Masego Kgomo and many other children, that the court should impose the heaviest possible punishment," she added.
Masego was murdered two years ago. The girl's badly decomposed and mutilated body was found a field in Soshanguve.
The Memorial Park, where the sod-turning ceremony took place, will be built where her body was found.
"In memory of Masego Kgomo and the many other children who perished in the hands of these criminals, we must move with speed to put these murderers behind bars. As we do so, we must also focus our attention to those who claim to be sangomas who pay for the body parts of our children.
"The law must be equally harsh on them. I urge real sangomas to take a stand and expose those who trade with the bodies of our children," Xingwana said.
The Masego Kgomo Memorial Park would ensure that the 10-year-old's memory lived on and should also symbolise the collective efforts being made to fight child abuse and mutilations, she added.
"The Masego Kgomo Memorial Park must remain a permanent reminder of how cruel some adults can be to our children," the minister said.
Reverend Meshack Nkabinde, CEO of the Masego Kgomo Foundation and spokesman for the Kgomo family, said Masego's parents were "very moved" that their daughter would be honoured in such a way.
"They believe this memorial park will be a good way to remember her. In this way this land will no longer be regarded as a killing field but as a healing field," he said.
The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign kicked off on Friday. The government campaign aims to raise awareness around the abuse of women and children.
The theme for this year's 16 Days of Activism is 'From Peace in the Home to peace in the World: Proliferation of Small Arms and their Role in Domestic Violence'
