Every now and then, South Africa suffers a tragedy so horrific that the country briefly wonders again how it got to be so violent. The latest occurred more than five months ago, when 4-year-old Bokgabo Poo disappeared from a playground.
Her mother, Tsholofelo Poo, tells the story from her living room couch in Wattville township, near Johannesburg. How her young daughter was playing with a friend at the playground around the corner and how a man gave the child money to buy a piece of candy and stayed with her daughter, who then disappeared.
Less than 24 hours later, they found a child's leg half-buried in a garden. Tsholofelo went to look and realized it was his daughter. "I looked at the leg and one of the toenails was slightly bent. I knew it was Bokgabo. I threw myself on the ground.''
The South African newspaper The Sowetan ran a front-page story following Bokgabo's murder that featured the faces of 19 children and the headline, "How many more must die?"
Rape and murder of children is unusual in many countries, but not here."- Shanaaz Mathews, The Children's Institute
According to crime statistics, more than 7,500 South Africans were killed in the last quarter of 2022, including 1,100 women and 315 children. Shanaaz Mathews, an expert on infanticide in South Africa, says that almost all children know their killer. "It's often violence by a parent or acquaintance, deadly child abuse," she explains in her office at the University of Cape Town's Children's Institute. "Adolescent boys are also at high risk of dying from gang violence."
A much smaller proportion, but still dozens of victims a year, are children abducted by strangers often involving rape, as in the case of Bokgabo. "Rape and murder of children is unusual in many countries, but not here," Mathews says. "And the number of cases in which the perpetrator is unknown is increasing."
According to Mathews, infanticide cannot be separated from the general cycle of violence in which South Africa finds itself, the causes of which are very diverse. With every major tragedy such as the Bokgabo murder, the government is also quick to point to the socio-economic problems in South Africa, a country with a violent past, high levels of alcohol and drug abuse, unemployment and frustration.
Police cutbacks
These are all factors, but in doing so the government is also deflecting responsibility, say experts and opposition members. For the increase could also be explained in part by the decline of the police, something the government can do something about. Because despite the high crime figures, the police are suffering from cutbacks and not enough new officers are being recruited. According to the opposition DA party, South Africa has about 100,000 officers and needs about 90,000 more.
Researcher David Bruce of the Institute for Security Studies estimated that police solved 55% fewer murders between 2012 and 2021. There are not enough officers and detectives and the quality of their investigations has deteriorated, he argues. Motivation is low.In addition, less than 10% of rape cases are solved. "Police are not asking the right questions," Mathews observes. "More and more cases are going unsolved. That means perpetrators are getting away with it and we constantly have perpetrators around us who are a threat to our children."
Bokgabo's mother is concerned about the evidence against the suspect in her son's murder. He may have been seen on security footage with her, but is that enough? The suspect denies being the perpetrator. He also still finds it hard to swallow that he was out on bail. "Men get away with murder in South Africa," he sighs. "This has to stop."
