Mayor condemns killing of missing Empangeni child
Umhlathuze Local Municipality Mayor Xolani Ngwezi has strongly condemned the murder of a seven-year-old girl in Empangeni.
The body of Zanokuhle Khumalo, who was reported to have been kidnapped, was discovered in a neighbour's home in Dumisani Makhaye Village this week.
Police arrested the suspect who they found hiding at a nearby B&B in Empangeni.
Mayor Xolani Ngwezi visited Zanokuhle's family on Thursday.
"The protection of women and children is something that is very old in our tradition, especially in the Zulu culture. Therefore, it can't be that now women and children can be treated this way."
The news came as the country began observing the start of Women's Month.
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Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga says R2.1 billion has been allocated towards resources aimed at fighting gender-based violence and femicide.
She was speaking during a campaign launch in Pretoria on Thursday.
"We will intensify initiatives aimed at rallying all South Africans behind the country's fight against persistent acts of gender-based violence and femicide, including those perpetrated by intimate partners and family members.
"There is an urgent need to move beyond slogans and invest adequate resources towards the whole of society and government's response to gender-based violence and femicide."
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