Kokstad rocked by latest body discovery - IOL

"Those who kill women and children should also die - and this is my wish for them: that they die and rot in hell. They must die now, not tomorrow," a frustrated Greater Kokstad Municipal Manager Sipho Zwane told an Integrated Development Plan meeting this week.

The anguish gripping Kokstad boiled over at a municipal meeting this week when Greater Kokstad municipal manager Sipho Zwane delivered an emotional condemnation of those responsible for the killing of women and children.

“Those who kill women and children should also die - and this is my wish for them: that they die and rot in hell. They must die now, not tomorrow,” Zwane told residents at an Integrated Development Plan meeting in Horseshoe township on Tuesday, where the issue of violent crime repeatedly surfaced.

His outburst came as the grim reality confronting the small KwaZulu-Natal town deepened with the discovery of a decomposed body suspected to be that of a woman.

The body was found on the morning of Heritage Day beneath an old, abandoned vehicle that had reportedly been standing in the same spot for some time in Shayamoya township, near Marikana, an area already haunted by the disappearance and deaths of children.

The discovery has intensified concern in a community where a growing number of women and children have either gone missing or been found dead, although police have not indicated that the cases are necessarily connected.

Information presented by police indicates that arrests have been made in six of the cases, while five remain without arrests.

The cases are not uniform. Some have reportedly been linked to domestic violence and alcohol-related violence, while concerns have also been raised about the vulnerability of children and the responsibilities of parents and guardians.

For residents, however, the accumulation of cases has created a broader sense of insecurity and fear.

Zwane’s intervention was both an emotional outpouring and a call for collective action.

“If there is anyone among us at this meeting who is responsible, I wish that person would die now - not tomorrow,” he said.

He appealed to people at the meeting to use whatever spiritual authority they believed in - whether rooted in Christianity, African ancestral traditions or other faith traditions - to condemn those responsible for violence against women and children.

“I appeal to all of us here, according to the spiritual authority bestowed upon us, whether through our faith, our ancestors or through God, to condemn and curse those who kill children and women, so that they may die now,” he said.

At one point, visibly moved by the discussion, Zwane turned to a woman in the gathering and asked her to pray for the community and an end to the killings.

But alongside the grief and anger, the meeting produced a more practical question: what can be done to make Kokstad’s streets safer?

Councillor Phumzile Nocanda told residents that measures were being tightened around children found on the streets after dark.

Nocanda said children under the age of 18 found on the streets after 7pm, including those sent to shops by parents or guardians, would be taken home. Parents or guardians who had sent children out could potentially face arrest, he said.

“At present, no young child in Kokstad is permitted to be on the streets after 7pm. If we arrive at your home with the police at night and establish that the child was sent out by you, you will be arrested,” Nocanda said.

The intervention, however, prompted a wider debate among residents about whether restricting children’s movements could adequately address the underlying security concerns.

Residents called for more CCTV cameras in Kokstad town and surrounding townships, arguing that expanded surveillance could assist with crime prevention and provide investigators with evidence when violent crimes occur.

They also called for stronger public-security infrastructure, including high-mast lighting in poorly illuminated areas.

The demands for greater surveillance and improved lighting come against the backdrop of a community increasingly focused on the practical consequences of crime: identifying perpetrators, preventing further violence and ensuring that cases do not disappear into an unresolved backlog.

Nocanda acknowledged the demand for additional cameras but said municipal finances did not allow for the immediate installation of a comprehensive surveillance network.

Instead, he said, the rollout would have to take place incrementally and within the limits of the municipality’s annual budget allocations.