Lukhona Fose's family hopes for arrests soon following her murder
WARNING: THE STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS
JOHANNESBURG - Lukhona Fose's family on the West Rand is hoping that police will make arrests soon.
Fose was reported missing last Saturday, and a day later her body was discovered by a passer-by in an open veld not far from her Roodepoort home.
On Wednesday, City of Johannesburg Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu is expected to visit the family.
The community of Durban Deep, where Fose lived and was brutally killed, is still reeling with anger following her death.
Fose was found naked from the waist down, with her private area cut off.
The occult team, specialising in hate and muti-related crimes, has been roped in to investigate further, because of the state that Fose's body was found in.
The Speaker's office said that Wednesday's visit underscored the city's commitment to protecting children and standing firm against the escalating scourge of violence targeting youth, particularly during Child Protection Week.
ALSO READ: Boshielo says investigators not ruling out possibility Lukhona Fose murdered because of her sexuality
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
4 hours ago
- The Citizen
A VIEW OF THE WEEK: We need a ceasefire in the war on children
You were once a child, but must now be a responsible adult. The theme for this year's Child Protection Week is 'working together in ending violence against children', but South Africa only came together in outrage. Child Protection Week started on 29 May and ended on Thursday, but it felt like it never really started. The intended focus on children's rights, safety, and community involvement was all overshadowed by mourning. As soon as the week began, police announced the gruesome discovery of the body of a child suspected to be that of two-year-old Kutlwano Shalaba, who went missing last November. The toddler's mother and a sangoma have both been arrested in connection with the death and face charges of murder and human trafficking. A few days later, 14-year-old Likhona Fose's mutilated body was found in an empty field in Roodeport, Gauteng. Police believe Fose was either targeted for her sexuality, making it a hate crime, or her body parts were mutilated for muthi purposes. Not far from that scene, just two days later, a young boy was shot, allegedly through the head and throat, in Westbury. The community claimed it took several hours for paramedics or police to attend to the incident. Children at risk These were just three incidents that grabbed the headlines in the seven days that Child Protection Week is commemorated. Nevermind other murders that may not have been reported, or the bullying, abuse and neglect that is a daily hell for children. Statistics show that around 1 288 children die in road accidents every year, more than 20 died of food-borne diseases in 2024, and around 140 children are known to be missing. Thousands go to school hungry each day, while thousands more do not even attend school. The problem is not only a rural one, with a recent General Household Survey finding that across SA's major urban metros, 578 000 households with children live on less than R2 500 a month. It also found that around 10% of children with special needs do not attend school, with more than 1 in 3 missing school in Mangaung and eThekwini. The government is assisting, with 54% of children attending school for free and 51% receiving social grants. ALSO READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: What were you doing at 11? Not setting fire to a school, I hope Who will protect our kids? While children's rights are enshrined in the constitution, they are too often ignored. If it takes a village to raise a child, it should be that village's responsibility to hold each other to account. There should never be abuse disguised as discipline or bullying masquerading as jokes. Children should never be neglected for convenience or left behind because they are scared to have a voice. School transport owners should not put profit before lives by cramming children on overcrowded and unroadworthy transport. It should not be that children should walk among crime hotspots to get to school, or find the school itself a hotbed of criminality. Parents, teachers, caregivers, community leaders, and children themselves should be taught the signs of abuse and recognise them when displayed. During Child Protection Week, and beyond, we must remember that we were all once children in need of help. We owe it to the rising generation to keep them safe and give them a chance in life we may have never got. NOW READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: It's a warzone and we are not prepared
The Citizen
6 hours ago
- The Citizen
Gauteng family pleads for safe return of their little child
Omphile Sebiloane, a Grade 2C pupil from Shalimar Ridge Primary School was allegedly kidnapped from her home. As the country marked Child Protection Month in May, another child has gone missing in a scourge that is plaguing South Africa. A family in Gauteng is pleading for the safe return of their 8-year-old daughter. Missing Omphile Sebiloane, a Grade 2C pupil from Shalimar Ridge Primary School, was allegedly kidnapped from her home in Ratanda, Heidelberg, this week. According to the family, Omphile was last seen wearing a pink tracksuit, a maroon top and a black jacket with pyjamas underneath. If you have ANY information on her whereabouts, please contact the nearest police station immediately or call Evelyn Ntoka 060 819 7345 And Anna Sebiloane 073 852 5188 ALSO READ: Police rope in specialised team to probe murder of 14-year-old Lukhona Fose Murder Omphile's alleged kidnapping comes after the brutal murder of teenager Lukhona Fose. The 14-year-old Fose, a Grade 8 pupil at Ikusasalethu Secondary School in Braamfischerville, was found dead with her body mutilated in an empty field on Sunday, 1 June 2025. Fose was last seen after leaving home with friends. A passerby discovered Fose's mutilated body under a shrub in Durban Deep and immediately notified police. The grim discovery came after an intense search by family members, community members, and law enforcement officials following her disappearance on Sunday afternoon. Investigation Deputy Police Minister Dr Polly Boshielo this week says a specialised team has been assigned to lead investigations into the murder of Fose. The minister said the police's occult unit has been roped in to investigate the matter. 'There are two possibilities: It could be that Lukhona was targeted for her sexuality, making it a hate crime, or her body parts were mutilated for muthi purposes. 'Our investigations are ongoing, and maximum resources have been roped in to find those who are behind the killing of this young woman.' Boshielo raised concerns about the attacks and murders of women and children, saying that 'it cannot be business as usual'. Mother and Sangoma Meanwhile, a mother who allegedly sold her two-year-old son to a sangoma for R75,000 will remain behind bars. Keneilwe Shalaba appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrates Court on Monday, alongside Sebokoana Khoanyana, the man who allegedly bought her child. The boy's body was discovered in a shallow grave last week. Shalaba reported that her child had been kidnapped in November last year. She was arrested three days later after confessing to selling her son to a sangoma, claiming she was not happy with the child's gender. NOW READ: WATCH: How Olorato Mongale murder suspect 'confessed' [VIDEO]
Daily Maverick
19 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
SA's alarming child violence rates demand collaboration between government and NGOs
The plan is up against dysfunction within social development departments and fraught relations with NGOs that deliver most services. About 1,100 children were murdered in South Africa in the past financial year, according to South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics. And estimates prepared by detective services suggest that about 1.181 children were victims of attempted murder and 6,209 were seriously assaulted in just the last three-quarters of the 2024/25 financial year. It is clear that South Africa has a serious problem of violence against children. As the country marks national Child Protection Week, those mandated to care for its children should step up. In November 2024, the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children took place in Bogotá, Colombia. South Africa's Social Development Minister, Sisisi Tolashe, joined ministers from 102 other countries in pledging an ambitious plan of action to prevent and respond to violence against children. South Africa committed to several actions by 2027. One was to implement evidence-based parenting programmes in 52 districts to ensure safe home environments for children, and reduce child abuse and the use of corporal punishment by parents and caregivers. Another was to implement the 2024 Basic Education Laws Amendment Act by 2027 to improve safety in the learning environment. The law strengthens the ban on corporal punishment in schools and introduces stronger penalties for those using corporal punishment. South Africa also pledged to ensure that psychosocial services are available 24 hours a day to parents and caregivers in distress, and increase the reach of the 365 Days Child Protection Programme of Action for prevention and management of violence against children to 52 districts. It also committed to strengthening the ability of caregivers and frontline workers to reduce and prevent online violence against children. Targets Achieving these targets would help keep children safe and potentially decrease violence overall in South Africa. This is critical because violence against children carries heavy costs for individuals, families and the state. A 2015 study by Save the Children South Africa and the University of Cape Town found that violence against children cost the country R238.58-billion a year, equivalent to 6% of gross domestic product. These are the most recent figures available — and annual costs will only have increased since then. Investing in preventing and reducing violence against children is urgently needed. This would not only save costs, but help increase South Africa's school completion rate, and reduce unemployment and dependency on social grants. Making this pledge a reality is in the interests of all South Africans. It is strongly supported by the many civil society organisations the Department of Social Development would need to work with to implement the programmes the pledge outlines. And herein lies the most significant challenge. The department at a national level and in several provinces has treated non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the people they serve with a lack of respect and compassion, placing many lives at risk. The relationship between the department and civil society is mistrusting and fraught, and must change. At the same time that Tolashe was presenting her plan in Bogotá, the Gauteng Division of the High Court made a third ruling forcing the province's Social Development Department to pay NGOs that it had contracted to provide services. By that point, these NGOs had not received payment to deliver services on behalf of the state for seven months. This is not due to a lack of finances. In the same financial year (2023/4), the Gauteng provincial department underspent its budget by half a billion rand. Essentials The KwaZulu-Natal provincial department has not yet paid its NGO service providers for work done in the first quarter of 2025, leaving organisations unable to cover staff salaries or the costs of essentials, such as food for children. While departmental social workers might help deliver services promised in the pledge, most are already responding to cases of serious child abuse and neglect, and supporting cases through the courts. Without NGOs, the government probably won't be able to deliver on its pledge to prevent and reduce violence against children. There are many positive steps the department could take, including implementing the Sector Funding Policy (SFP). This outlines why services for children are a priority, and lays the basis for multi-year funding for NGOs that provide these vital services on behalf of the state. Funding certainty would help reduce the sector's insecurity and enable relations between the department and its service providers to be repaired. However, Sector Funding Policy implementation is not included in any planning documents, and there are signs that the national department is woefully under-capacitated. One indication of this is its inability to finalise memoranda of understanding with NGOs that offer the department free technical services. Since 2020/21, the national department has not received a clean audit. These examples go beyond isolated glitches. They show recurrent mismanagement, poor planning and a lack of basic operational competence across national and provincial social development departments. The minister needs to accept that the status quo is not working. Strong, capable leadership must be provided to achieve a turnaround, not least by prioritising delivery. For the state to deliver on its bold and important pledge, the minister must focus on repairing the damage caused to the relationships between her department and NGOs. She must also be held accountable for departmental failures that are being compounded daily. The department must ensure that officials deal with families holistically. Currently, it treats each family member's problem separately instead of approaching the family as a complete system. For South Africa to develop, its children must thrive — and that requires providing families with holistic, integrated services. Civil society organisations are ready to do the work required and take hands with the department to achieve the vision of a country that is safe for children. But they can no longer stand by as services to children and families are undermined by the inefficiency and ineptitude of a department that has lost its way. DM Chandré Gould, Senior Research Fellow, Justice and Violence Prevention, Institute for Security Studies (ISS); Gugu Xaba, Executive Director, Save the Children South Africa; Suzan Eriksson, Independent Consultant, Wilmi Dippenaar, Director, South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network; Monica Woodhouse, South African National Child Rights Coalition and Give a Child a Family Africa.
