The case of the 44-year-old man who killed his three biological children and a stepdaughter in New Germany, resembles many such incidents lately.
In recent times Zululand has had its fair share of similar atrocities.
Men kill their children in a cowardly and callous manner.
There can be no justification for this madness.
Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and must be protected at all times, especially by their fathers.
Children can defend themselves.
The public outrage demonstrated when the man appeared in court recently should spur us on to become more proactive to find solutions for such heinous acts.
We can only hope that the courts would mete out the harshest sentences possible that would serve as a deterrent to future copycats.
Having said that, our country as a whole should wake up to the vulnerability of especially stepchildren who not only have no voice, but also have to survive at the mercy of their stepfathers.
Life is even worse for stepdaughters, who more often than not are sexually abused.
No one can imagine what these children go through when someone who claims to love their mother abuses them.
In many cases these children don’t report the abuse to their parents or authorities because they know they wouldn’t be believed.
Dependence also plays a crucial role as mothers often fear forfeiting their livelihood and ‘stability’ if the man is arrested.
Her compromise, though, risks the life and future of the child.
At a time when communities have lost their moral compass, neighbours mind their own business and look the other way even when they know something is seriously amiss with the children next door.
Sometimes, out of desperation, teachers are approached and expected to intervene, but truth be told; most are not trained to deal with such sensitive issues.
That is why the children are sometimes sent back to the same household to ‘solve’ the matter.
Beyond the school and the home there is not much hope considering how cases reported are often dealt with by the police, who themselves are not always adequately trained to treat them with the correct protocol.
Given the above, there are just too many silent dream snatchers out there who need to be dealt with to safeguard our children.
It is chilling to know that there are young members in our communities who are trapped and feel abandoned and neglected and will be scarred for life.
Unless we join hands to sensitise everybody about the scourge of child abuse, we will stand accused of failing in upholding our Constitution.
