Latest news with #CatalyaRemanaTangimetuaPepene
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Hundreds hīkoi to honour three-year-old killed in Northland
Kaikohe's Piriwiritua Rātana brass band led the hīkoi, giving it an almost festive atmosphere. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf More than 400 people have marched down Kaikohe's main street to honour the tragically short life of Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene . The 3-year-old died at her home last month, and a 45-year-old man has since been charged with her murder. Her death has rocked the small Northland town, which on Monday sought to remember her with a hīkoi starting at the top of Broadway, near the housing complex where she lived. Community leaders front the hīkoi as it makes its way down Broadway. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The hīkoi was led by Kaikohe's Piriwiritua Rātana Brass Band and dominated by families with young children carrying balloons and blowing bubbles. Many of those taking part wore vivid colours in memory of a girl whose smile was so bright neighbours said it "lit up the whole world". Tohu Cassidy, of Ōmanaia, wore the brightest things he could find. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf By the time the hīkoi reached the green, at the former Kaikohe Hotel site halfway down Broadway, the crowd had swelled to about 500. There community leaders exchanged speeches and children played on bouncy castles or took part in activities such as colouring contests. Many marchers turned up with balloons or brightly coloured clothing. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf It was an emotional day for many, including Sharon Harris, who said she was one of Catalya's two godmothers. Harris, who was holding a bunch of balloons, each with a message for her godchild, said her smile was so wide it reached "from one eyebrow to the other". Fighting back tears, Harris said she was heartened by the number of people taking part. "I'm really glad everybody's turned out here to tautoko this hīkoi ... but it makes me miss her heaps when I look at all these other little kids. She was a beautiful child. I have a child of my own, she was very close to Catalya." Kaumatua Wikitoria Te Whata addresses the crowd. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf One of the organisers, Mutunga Rameka, of the hapū Te Matarahurahu, said the aim of the hīkoi was to show unity and celebrate Catalya. "The kaupapa is 'He tapu te mokopuna', which translates as 'All children are sacred'. It doesn't matter whether you know them or not. We have a duty as adults to look after all tamariki." Rameka was pleased with the turnout but said there was much more work to be done. "I'm hoping we can be part of that so we can show aroha to all mokopuna." Organiser Mutunga Rameka said the hīkoi aimed to show unity and honour Catalya's short life. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Mike Shaw, a community leader and pastor at Kaikohe's Celebration Church, said the tragedy had been keenly felt. "We're quite a small community, so when something like this happens it has a big impact … This literally happened in my street, and there's a sense of sadness and despair to know that such a young a beautiful life was ended so needlessly." Shaw he was concerned by what he said was the practice of bringing high-needs families into a town that was already struggling, and whether they had enough support. He believed social housing complexes needed not just external support, but also pastoral care from qualified people living on the premises and available whenever needed, to check up on residents who were struggling and de-escalate problems. "So I'm here to support the hīkoi and the community's grieving process, but also to get into discussions about where to from here, and how can we prevent these kinds of things from happening again." Shaw said Catalya's death was not a sign of a wider pattern in Kaikohe. "On the back of recent publicity about methamphetamine it could give you the impression that we're in a downward spiral, but this was an anomaly. Most families in Kaikohe are loving families that support their young people, so we're optimistic about the future while also being realistic about the high needs around us." Shaw said he was heartened by the number of young families taking part, "supporting each other through the grief into a better future". Many young families took part in the hīkoi. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Former Māori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels, fresh from being named in King's Birthday Honours, said the speeches after the hīkoi gave him cause for hope. "A number of our leaders and kaumātua and wahine toa said the cure for this does not lie with the government, it lies with ourselves, our whānau. It can't be fixed by government pouring money into more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. We have to accept our responsibilities ourselves." Samuels said drugs and alcohol were usually the cause when families became dysfunctional. Te Matewai Skipworth hands out cake after the hīkoi. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Government Minister Shane Jones, who was among the speakers, made a similar point. He said what had happened to Catalya was not a specifically Māori issue, but the result of people absorbing drug culture and losing all sense of responsibility. "The death of the baby is an inevitable culmination of moral decay, drugs and violence. The event today is positive because it's put the acid back on families themselves to intervene and not let situations escalate to a point where they're beyond salvation," Jones said. The 45-year-old man charged with assaulting and murdering Catalya is due in the High Court at Whangārei on 11 June. He has interim name suppression. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Hīkoi to honour toddler killed in her Northland home
Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene died at her Kaikohe home last Wednesday. Photo: Supplied A hīkoi is taking place in Kaikohe this morning to honour the life of three-year-old Northland girl Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene The toddler, known to close family as Remana, was farewelled last week at Te Paea Marae, just north of Whangārei, and buried at St James Church cemetery in Ngāraratunua last week. Neighbours told RNZ they were heartbroken to lose a child whose smile was so bright it "lit up the whole world". Emergency services were called to a home on Tawanui Road, in Kaikohe, about 6.15pm last Wednesday, where they found the girl unresponsive. Police said she could not be saved, despite medical treatment at the scene. A 45-year-old man, who has been granted interim name suppression, is charged with assaulting a child sometime between 1 and 30 April, and with murdering the same child on 21 May. He is due to appear in the High Court at Whangārei on 11 June. Now, Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi has posted on social media , signed off by chairman Mane Tahere: "The hīkoi has been called by local hapū Te Matarahurahu supported by Ngāpuhi Group to honour the life of Catalya, a three-year-old mokopuna whose passing has deeply affected our community." It would start at Len's Pies on Broadway at 10am on Monday, and finish at the green at the centre of town. There would be karakia, karanga, takutaku and waiata, led by the hapū, and people were encouraged to wear bright, colourful clothing. "This tragedy has deeply shaken us all," the post reads. "The pain is still raw, not just because we have lost a precious life, but because this is not an isolated incident. We also remember our whānau who were most recently taken in Horeke and Pakotai but also the many others this year. Our aroha extends to all the families affected by these traumatic events." "We recognise that vulnerability exists on all sides of these tragedies, in the lives of those harmed, and those who have harmed. As whānau, hapū and a broader iwi, we must find a way forward that upholds both justice and healing."
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Hikoi to lift tapu off Kaikohe following child death - Shane Jones calls out Ngāpuhi's silence
The Kaikohe community is in a stunned silence following the violent death of three-year-old Catalya Remana Tangimetua Pepene. The violent death of Catalya Remana Tangimetua Pepene has sparked a call for Kaikohe locals and Māori to stand up and take control of their community. A 45-year-old man has been charged with three-year-old Catalya's murder and appeared in the Kaikohe District Court last week. Ngāpuhi
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- RNZ News
Neighbours mourn death of 'beautiful' toddler Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene
Neighbours say Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene's smile was so bright it "lit up the whole world". Photo: Supplied Neighbours of a three-year-old girl who died at her home in Northland last week say they are heartbroken by the death of a child whose smile was so bright it "lit up the whole world". The child, named by the funeral home as Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene, was found unresponsive when emergency services were called to her home in Kaikohe last Wednesday. The child, known to family as Remana, died despite medics' efforts to save her. She was farewelled on Monday at Te Paea Marae, at Ngāraratunua, just north of Whangārei, and buried at nearby St James Church, around the same time as a 45-year-old man appeared in court charged with her murder. Among those who turned out for the court hearing were several of her neighbours, who were shocked and upset by her death. Arthur Harawira said he often saw her in the park where they lived on Tawanui Road. "She had a beautiful smile. And when she smiled it lit up the whole world… A beautiful individual - not just a smile from the face, it was a smile from the inside, you know. Such a beautiful girl." Tiare Te Whata, another neighbour at the same housing complex, was also devastated. "She used to come around to our home and play with my mokos every time, and her smile, it came not from the outside, it came from within… It's just so sad that this is happening to all our rangatahi, especially here in Kaikohe. I just feel heartbroken at the moment because of what's happened to such a beautiful little human being." Other neighbours spoke of her playfulness and her insistence on being picked up, and all were struck by the brightness of her smile. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The suspect's first appearance before Judge Philip Rzepecky in the Kaikohe District Court lasted no more than five minutes. Supporters of the defendant and the victim were made to sit on opposite sides of the gallery, with three security guards in the courtroom in case tension spilled over. Judge Philip Rzepecky opened the hearing with a message for the roughly 15 members of the public present. "I realise emotions are probably running high among the people here, and there is a lot of sadness, but I appreciate the dignity you are showing at the moment." The only incidents occurred when a close relative of the accused refused at first to stand for the judge, and tried to enter the main area of the courtroom after the hearing. Both were quickly resolved by security. The 45-year-old accused man was charged with assault on a child, occurring sometime between 1 April and 30 April, and murder on 21 May. Duty lawyer Jack Dudley did not seek bail, but he did ask for interim name suppression. That was granted, but only until his next appearance in the High Court at Whangārei on 11 June. The judge said a formal application would have to be made if he wanted suppression extended beyond that date. Police prosecutor Duncan Coleman asked for, and was granted, an order preventing any contact between the accused and the child's mother, to ensure there could be no collusion. The accused remained impassive through most of the hearing, only nodding at the judge when told his name would be kept secret for now. Police investigating the three-year-old's death made the arrest on Sunday . Detective Senior Sergeant Christan Fouhy said Victim Support was supporting the whānau and local community following the tragedy. Two detectives working on the case were present for the hearing. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
