THE Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has applauded law enforcement for arresting a man linked to the rape and murder of Amantle Semane in Orlando East, Soweto.
The Mozambican national, who is alleged to be living illegally in South Africa, was arrested on Wednesday evening after a team led by the station commander and branch commander traced him to another shack in Zola.
This followed the residents working with the police on a three-day hunt for the foreign national.
The suspect was also a welder.
He was accused of raping and strangling the six-year-old girl to death in his rented shack on Monday, October 21.
The suspect made his first appearance in the Protea Magistrate court on Friday and is facing a schedule 6 offence.
His bail application would be heard next week Friday.
The Portfolio Committee chairperson, Thebe Khumalo, said the arrest represented a crucial step towards justice for the victim, their family, and the Orlando East community, which was shaken by the horrific incident.
“The Committee commends the tireless efforts of the police working together with members of the community in apprehending the suspect, who is believed to be an undocumented Mozambican national.
“The committee emphasises the importance and need for more efficient means of documenting all foreign nationals within South Africa’s borders and the enhancement of stricter border management and control.
“Crimes of this nature are deeply traumatic and unacceptable. They highlight the urgent need for society to come together in the fight against gender-based violence and the protection of children,” said Khumalo.
However, this highlighted a systemic failure to protect children.
The DA recently highlighted the failure by revealing that more than 106 000 rape cases and 22 000 sexual assault cases involving children have been reported over the last six financial years of 2018/19 and 2023/24.
The party said while these statistics were shocking, not all cases were reported, pointing to an even greater crisis than the numbers alone indicate.
“There has also been a massive increase in attempted murder and assault grievous bodily harm (GBH) on children too, as 91 children were raped at school as revealed by the recent crime statistics from April 2024 to June 2024,” said deputy spokesperson on police Lisa Schickerling.
The figures were revealed through a DA parliamentary question with the Minister of Police.
Schickerling said the government needs to identify a child safety strategy, build partnerships with NGOs, and develop an inter-sectoral plan to promote the safety of South Africa’s children.
She said the Eastern Cape alone reported 45.9% of cases during the financial year 2022/2023.
Nationwide, rape constituted a shocking 38.3% of reported crimes against children, said Schickerling.
“Even more distressing is the fact that the vast majority—90.1%—of child rape victims are girls. Across the country, child rape and sexual violence cases remain pervasive.
“Provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, and Gauteng contribute significantly to these numbers, with no sign of these trends decreasing over the years,” she said.
Although 18,108 rape cases involving child victims were reported to the SAPS in 2022/2023, only 10,435 arrests were made, and a smaller fraction of 471 child rape cases were enrolled for trial by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) during the same period.
Schickerling said this glaring gap between arrests and trials pointed to a systemic failure in ensuring justice for the most vulnerable.
“Over four years, from 2020 to 2024, only 1,710 child rape cases and 768 sexual assault cases have been brought to trial. The DA believes this is unacceptable and indicative of the urgency for systemic reform,” she said.
Human rights activist and veteran violence monitor Mary de Haas said the criminal justice system was hanging by thread, adding that it was not only the police but the courts that were to blame as prosecutors should be overseeing the work of the police.
“Some seem to lack the training (there seems to be a reluctance from NPA to bring back retired prosecutors with good track records to mentor juniors), but, at worst, prosecutors (I could cite cases, including those I am currently dealing with) are complicit in police cover up and abuse.
“We have excellent legislation, but the police and courts are letting children down badly. Most crime victims suffer because of the extremely serious problems with policing and prosecutions, but vulnerable people, especially children, suffer the worst. Until there is a political will to deal with gross corruption in both the SAPS and the NPA, nothing will change,” she said.