A one-year-old baby, Sinakhokonke Mazibuko, was brutally assaulted by a 33-year-old man, who is the mother's child uncle. It is alleged that the man also hit the child's head against the ground. The 18-year-old mother watched helplessly as her child was gruesomely killed. The uncle cut open the baby's stomach and removed the intestines.It is alleged that the man started being violent to the family on Sunday and he could not be contained. The man stabbed the mother and the neighbour who intervene. The neighbour is recovering in hospital.

HE WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza strongly condemned the gruesome murder of a toddler, in eMpumelelweni area in Nquthu in KZN on Tuesday, by a person who was supposed to provide protection to the family."This is one of the most horrifying incidents in our province and it's even hard to explain what could have led to such behaviour," said Khoza."It is very painful that a child had to die like this because this man was violently attacking the entire family. This caused a lot of pain to many of us. It is very hard to believe that an old person in a good state of mind can kill a child, let alone in such a macabre way," said Khoza.

REPORT FAMILY MEMBERS

Khoza expressed concerns that no one quickly reported the killer to the police when he became violent. "We are of the view that if the matter was quickly reported to the police, the child would have been alive today. As communities and families, we should ensure that anyone who becomes violent should be reported to the police immediately to avoid harm that could happen," she added.She further urged the communities to be more proactive in ensuring the safety of women and children in their respective villages. "The violent murder of children in the province shows that people have lost morals. The circumstances around the brutal murder of Sinakhokonke indicate that the killer wanted to wipe off the entire family since he started attacking them on Sunday," she said.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Khoza commended the law enforcement agencies for the swift response in ensuring that the perpetrator gets arrested after the gruesome killing. "Although the life of the innocent child would not be returned, we find solace that the perpetrator is behind bars. We have no doubt that law enforcement agencies will secure a lengthy sentence for this heartless person. This person should be removed from our society and spend his entire life in prison," Khoza cited. She urged members of the public to provide support to the Mazibuko family. "It is always important to support each other during such difficult times. Our social workers will be with the family, especially the child's mother in order for her to cope with such a traumatic experience of seeing her child killed." Khoza has dispatched a team of social workers to provide psycho-social support, trauma debriefing and trauma containment to the family. The man appeared in the Nquthu Magistrate's Court and the accused was remanded in custody.