A 12-year-old girl has been raped and strangled to death allegedly by a herdsman at Bhaziya village outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Emihle Tukani was a member of young girls and boys that undergo virginity testing at a young age to promote abstinence from sexual activities.
The victim was sent by her grandmother to fetch R10 from the man. Her grandmother was going to use the money as a taxi fare to get her old age social grant.
Virginity Testing Organisation Secretary Liziwe Langa has expressed shock about the brutal killing of Emihle Tukani.
“We are very sad about what is happening in our communities. Men rape young girls, we are asking government to help us in securing our young girls. We also ask the government to help our children in this, we are asking the government to act against this thing of rape. We are very sad about this, we are very angry about what is happening in our communities,” says Langa.
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Meanwhile, Children’s Rights Organization, Khula Community Development Programme, has called upon the justice system to tighten its approach in dealing with gender-based violence.
“I am saddened about what has happened to this 12-year-old girl. I understand that by joining Inkciyo at a young age, she was trying to shape her own life so that she does not participate in any sexual activities, yet she was subjected to a very painful experience of a 47-year-old forcing himself into having sexual intercourse with this young angel. I appeal to men once again to refrain from this, all these acts of violence,” says Petros Majola, Khula Community Development Programme Director.
A 47-year-old suspect was allegedly hacked to death, allegedly by an angry mob of people.
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