Child rape 'national disgrace'
2006-06-07 18:15
Cape Town - It is a national disgrace that more than 90% of child rapists in South Africa get away with their crimes, said African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe on Wednesday.
Speaking during debate on the presidency's budget vote, he said the justice system, police and the government were failing the country's children, and called for the reinstatement of the death sentence for child rapists.
"Earlier this year... President (Thabo Mbeki) told the nation that this was the Age of Hope.
"What the ACDP wants to know is whether young boys and girls have any hope of reaching adulthood without being raped?"
'A national disgrace'
Meshoe called on Mbeki, who earlier opened the debate in the house, to intervene to speed up the investigation in a particular case where two young girls were raped, and one of them murdered.
"It is a national disgrace, Mr President, that more than 90% of child rapists in this country get away with their crimes. The government must stop this.
"A man who strangles and rapes a six-year-old girl... deserves much more than a life sentence. The most-appropriate sentence should have been the death penalty," he said.
Meshoe appealed to Mbeki to "give a word of hope" to mothers who were worried about the safety of their children.
"The criminal justice system has failed them, the police and the government are failing them.
"Is there any hope for the safety of our children? That is the question that needs to be answered," he said.
- SAPA