President consoles family of murdered toddler

President Jacob Zuma has visited the family of three-year-old Courtney Pieters, who was murdered and buried in a shallow grave in Elsies River on the Cape Flats recently.

Yesterday Zuma and his entourage were greeted by throngs of people outside the Pieters family home.

He had a private meeting with the family, including Courtney’s mother Juanita and family spokesperson Roegshana Pascoe, for more than half-an-hour.

When he emerged, he unveiled a plaque in memory of Courtney on the front wall of the family home.

Addressing media afterwards, Zuma said: “Enough is enough. We cannot allow this to happen.”

He then went to nearby Epping to the spot where Courtney’s body was discovered on Saturday, nine days after she went missing.

A memorial site with a cross and flowers has been erected where the body was found.

In a statement issued earlier in the day, Zuma expressed shock and repulsion at the gruesome killing of Courtney.

He reiterated that violence against women and children has been declared a priority crime and that government would deploy all its resources to ensure that the perpetrators face the full might of the law.

“We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to the Pieters family and to all other families of the women who have been brutally murdered or attacked in various ways in the past few days in parts of the country.

“These incidents have caused untold pain among South Africans.

“This is the time for us to unite and isolate the cruel perpetrators of these shameful and hateful crimes against women and children,” the president said in the statement.

A 40-year-old man who was living with the Pieters family appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday facing charges of rape and murder in connection with the death of Courtney. – ANA