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Thousands of people protested across South Africa on Tuesday, demanding justice for an eight-year-old girl who was allegedly raped at school last year. The case, which occurred in October 2023, gained national attention only in recent weeks after the child’s mother spoke out in a podcast and local media, urging authorities to act.
Despite widespread outrage, no arrests have been made. However, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu stated last week that the case was being investigated with “utmost seriousness and priority” and that three suspects—including school staff—had been identified in the Eastern Cape province.
In Cape Town, more than 2,000 demonstrators marched through the city center, with thousands more gathering in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban. Many expressed deep frustration with the country’s justice system.
“I have no trust in our justice system, it has always failed us,” said Janine de Vos, a mother of two attending the Cape Town protest.
South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of violence against women and children. According to the United Nations, one in three women in the country experiences physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. Few perpetrators face justice—of the 42,500 rapes reported in 2023-24, 17,100 involved children, yet only 449 child rape cases were prosecuted, according to official data.
In a separate case, police announced Tuesday the arrest of a primary school teacher accused of raping a 13-year-old student in the north of the country.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube stressed the need for stricter measures to protect children. “We must ensure that sexual predators… are not included as staff members at a school,” she told journalists. She also acknowledged delays in the government’s promise to publish a national register of convicted sex offenders, which was due by the end of February but has been stalled by legal challenges.
