In connection with the death of five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane on Friday of last week in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, two suspects have been taken into custody. The boy was injured by a bullet as his father was being taken advantage of. The young lad had hurried outside to welcome his dad back home.
A stabilization team from the police has been sent to the location.
The five-year-old boy’s aunt claims she is finding it difficult to deal with his passing after he was shot and died during a hijacking incident in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.
Kgomotso Phalane says the boy was like a son to him. Junior Phalane was fatally shot and killed when a group of armed suspects hijacked his father’s bakkie as he arrived home last Friday evening.
Phalane says they want justice for the boy. She says they will always remember him as a bubbly and respectful child.
“Junior was just a happy child, who loved to play and dance to amapiano dance. We’re going to remember him, as he was very talkative. He was just a normal child and he liked soccer. He was a very smart child, we were looking forward to a future lawyer because that was his wish to become a lawyer and it’s very sad because he was so close to his cousin, especially my daughter, even now she is not coping.”
The top SAPS officials and Police Minister Bheki Cele have promised that the killers of 5-year-old Phalane will be apprehended and charged soon.
Cele spent earlier today with the Phalane family. Subsequently, he addressed a Jukulyn community imbizo on crime prevention, promising to investigate the high rate of crime, particularly killings, in the area.
Earlier this week, the civil society organization, Not in My Name, said there is no political will to deal with crime, especially in townships.
Not in My Name Secretary-General Themba Masango says the government has to increase visible policing, as seen during the COVID-19 lockdowns, to successfully fight crime.
“When we had the lockdown, we had police in every single area and people were policed to make sure that they don’t buy alcohol, and didn’t jump the street. People were closed at home. Now, we want the same type of activity, strength, and action to be reinforced, especially in township areas,” says Masango.
“In hotspots like Soshanguve, Inanda, Mamelod; places like Gugulethu, Khayelitsha in Cape Town, and the Cape Flats,. They do have the resources. In Gauteng particularly, we’ve got the manpower now with ama-Panyapanya of Panyaza Lesufi [crime prevention wardens]. We should have people patrolling the streets 24/7,” adds Masango.
