Community to conduct own investigation
|Published
A makeshift memorial in front of the dead child's home. Picture: Facebook A makeshift memorial in front of the dead child's home. Picture: Facebook
Durban - Outraged residents have vowed to hold authorities accountable for the death of the 3-year-old Chatsworth girl, saying it was unacceptable for the child to have fallen through the cracks of the country’s welfare system.
Neighbours claimed they reported the abuse to child welfare and the police, but that nothing had been done.
Chatsworth Child Welfare president, Logan Naidu, denied allegations from community members that they had reported the abuse to his office, saying there was no record of any complaints.
Havenside Civic Association’s deputy chairman, Mubarak Mahomed, said on Sunday they would conduct their own investigation after obtaining affidavits from the people who claim to have reported the child’s situation.
“The community is concerned and we are all concerned that a child was (allegedly) abused to death. This is an extreme case and it has opened the eyes of the community to look if the child was the only child being abused in the community,” Mahomed said.
“The community says some of the reports were made with police and the social welfare, and nothing was done. We can’t let this slide.
“We will look into the reports, who it was reported to, by whom, when, and what was done. We will go to the house and see for ourselves. Someone has to be held accountable.”
He said drugs were part of the issues faced by the community and wondered if this might have contributed to the child’s alleged abuse.
A Facebook page has been opened in the child’s memory and, according to a post, a protest was being planned for the appearance of the child’s mother and grandmother in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The page had attracted more than 5 000 “likes” since it was set up on Friday.
Facebook user, Vanessa Bianca Govender, said: “We can make a difference and stop this (abuse) from happening. When I look at my baby, I can’t imagine why someone would want to hurt an innocent child. We are so hurt and upset.”
Jesse Devraj said: “I pray justice is served on the people responsible for this innocent precious baby girl’s death. The final justice would be if the justice system placed a picture of this baby girl in the cell of the (perpetrators) and let them see that picture every day and the torture of seeing the baby’s picture will surely tear their conscience. God bless the soul of this beautiful and precious baby girl.”