News

Residents hunt down alleged child rapist and murderer

todayOctober 23, 2024 113

Background
share close

Angry Orlando residents in Soweto took to the streets in search of leads that could help locate the man suspected to be behind the rape and brutal murder of six-year-old Amantle Samane.

Pethe Sara Simiao, who is believed to be a Mozambican national, is said to have lured the six-year-old to his shack as she played outside with other children.

Her half-naked body was found in an empty shack two streets away from her home on Monday.

Amanhle’s aunt, Mahlogonolo Samane, says the family isn’t coping with this loss.

 

Marching through the streets of Orlando West earlier, community members accosted one of Simiao’s alleged friends asking for the suspect’s whereabouts.

He, however, insisted that he didn’t know the man accused of the heinous crime.

He was eventually taken into custody for questioning by the police.

Gauteng police spokesperson, Mavela Masondo, has told journalists that they have roped in Interpol and Border Management Authority (BMA) in efforts to apprehend the suspect.

An organisation that supports GBV and rape survivors, the Tears Foundation, says the number of reported child abuse cases in the country is a reflection of a broken society.

According to Statistics SA, child rape cases increased by 6.3 percentage points between 2015/16 and 2019/20.

These figures show that rape emerged as the most frequently reported crime to law enforcement for girl children aged 17 and below between 2015/16 and 2019/20.

And while the girls were more likely to be victims of abduction, rape, sexual assault, child trafficking, and attempted common robbery – their male peers were mostly at risk of being victims of murder, assault with GBH, attempted murder, common robbery and common assault.

Interventions Team Supervisor at Tears, Kavya Swaminathan says, raising awareness about rights and the importance of reporting rape, and any other form of abuse, can empower survivors and reduce stigma.

 

Social media users believe more needs to be done to protect citizens.

Written by: Nonhlanhla Harris

Rate it

0%