3 days ago
Activists protest outside Parliament, demand justice for murdered child, 11
Jayden-Lee Meek was murdered outside his home after failing to come home on 12 May 2025.
Image: Supplied
At their own expense, a Johannesburg-based women's rights organisation has travelled to Cape Town to picket outside Parliament in a desperate bid to force the police to take decisive action in the brutal murder case of 11-year-old Jayden-Lee Meek.
The Women Empowerment Platform (WEP), led by founder Natalie Solomons, joined local activists and community leaders in calling for justice after Jayden-Lee's body was found just metres from his home in Fleurhof, Roodepoort.
The organisation is urging Parliament and the Portfolio Committee on Police to prioritise the case and ensure that an arrest is made.
'We got involved in the Jayden case because it's a child who was murdered in the very community we serve,' said Solomons.
'I still can't get the picture of how he was found that morning out of my head. It was a very evil sight to see – I don't know how somebody can do that to a little boy. I'm a mother. There's no way I could turn away from this. That's why we travelled from Johannesburg to Parliament. We want action. Someone needs to be held accountable.'
Jayden-Lee went missing on Tuesday, 12 May 2025. He was last seen being dropped off by school transport at around 3.30 pm at the Swazi Court complex, where he lived.
According to his mother, who works from home, Jayden never made it inside the flat.
His body was discovered the following day, just two metres from their doorstep. He was rushed to Discovery Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Anti-gender based activists picketing outside parliament demanding justice for slain Jayden-Lee Meek
Image: Supplied
According to witnesses, his body was still warm when found, indicating he may have died shortly before being discovered.
What followed has sparked outrage.
Community members say police and forensic teams only arrived after residents had already begun searching for Jayden's school clothes and bag.
According to community members, the crime scene was neither secured nor barricaded, and no arrests have been made more than two weeks after his death.
Community activist Althea Cluff, among the first to raise the alarm, said she fears the case will simply fade away.
'We are afraid this case will be buried like so many others — that it will become another cold case.'
Solomons and Cluff were livestreaming from the scene on TikTok the day Jayden's body was found, demanding urgent action from authorities.
The Women Empowerment Platform, established in 2020, runs a children's home called Legacy Children's Home and a gender-based violence (GBV) facility in Northcliff, Johannesburg.
The organisation currently houses over 10 children rescued from abusive environments.
'We see these horrors daily,' said Solomons. 'One of the girls we're housing now is 11, the same age as Jayden, and she was raped (and sodomised).
But Jayden's case hit differently. That picture of his body lying there... As a mother, I just couldn't turn away.'
Following pressure from activists, a meeting was held on 27 May at Parliament with MP Dereleen James.
The delegation submitted a formal request for a sitting with the Portfolio Committee on Police and was granted permission to hold a peaceful picket.
The case has since drawn national attention, with South Africans from multiple provinces donating to support the efforts of the self-funded group. But what the activists want most, is justice.
'We are not going anywhere until there is justice,' said Cluff. 'Jayden deserves that. All our children do.'
The community continues to call on SAPS, the Ministry of Police, and Parliament to ensure that the investigation proceeds swiftly, transparently, and with the urgency it deserves.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, confirmed that the committee had unanimously supported the call for a dedicated meeting to address Jayden-Lee's death and the broader policing challenges it exposes.
'This follows a formal request sent to me yesterday by committee member Dereleen James MP,' said Cameron.
'We will ensure that the necessary accountability mechanisms are activated without delay. South Africa's children deserve better, and we will act accordingly.'
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