Kelston pupils march for Moko
Students have come together to mark the anniversary of the violent death of Moko Rangitoheriri.
A protest march was led by four Kelston Intermediate School students in west Auckland on Friday afternoon for the 3-year-old boy who was routinely and savagely beaten to death on August 10, 2015.
Nearby schools, community groups and families joined more than 300 students in calling for an end to child abuse.
Student organiser Aulky Wang, 12, was inspired to organise the march when he heard of Moko’s death.
‘‘We hear about lots of child abuse in the news and there is some in this community and we wanted to make a stand against it,’’ he says.
‘‘I thought it was so wrong and it needs to stop, not just in New Zealand but all over the world. We wanted to spread that message.’’
Moko died on from injuries he received during prolonged abuse and torture.
A couple, David Haerewa, 43, and Tania Shailer, 26, were found guilty of the manslaughter of the Taupo toddler and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment at Rotorua High Court, with a minimum sentence of nine years.
The pair was initially charged with murder before pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
They were looking after the boy at their Taupo home while Moko’s mother was tending to her eldest child in hospital.
The mother of Moko, Nicola Dally-Paki was reported to have said at the sentencing the judge could have made a better decision.
Another organiser of Friday’s protest, Tolinn Paialii says ‘‘all children deserve to grow up and experience what it is like to be an adult’’.
The 35-minute march led the students up towards nearby Kelston Girls’ College, onto Great North Rd in Kelston and back down Satellite Rd.
Kelston Intermediate principal Phil Gordon says the school has a programme where students are encouraged to do activities to serve their community.
‘‘We need to raise robust children with the equipment to negotiate these sorts of issues and give them a voice,’’ he says.
The year-eight students who organised the protest were Aulky Wang, Tolinn Paialii, Sai Robertson and Chilam Ng.