We are all shaken, we are all scared': Kokstad mourns another child murder
Updated Aug. 7, 2026, 9:08 a.m. | By Kubobonke Luthuli A Kokstad ward councillor says the failure to arrest those behind a series of child murders has…
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Updated Aug. 7, 2026, 9:08 a.m. | By Kubobonke Luthuli
A Kokstad ward councillor says the failure to arrest those behind a series of child murders has shattered community trust in police and government. The comments follow the killing of seven-year-old Ndalo Jona, whose body was found weeks after he disappeared from the Marikana informal settlement.
A ward councillor in Kokstad says the lack of arrests of those responsible for a series of child murders has destroyed the community's trust in both government and the police.
The comments come after the discovery of seven-year-old Ndalo Jona who was killed in the Marikana informal settlement.
Police say the little boy, who will be laid to rest on Friday, was found with a stab wound.
He was reported missing more than three weeks ago after he left his home to fetch a soccer ball but never returned.
Investigators say Ndalo's body was found at the same location where the remains of seven-year-old Lathitha Mtolo were found in June.
Community says trust has been broken
Ward 10 councillor Zodidi Tshazi says residents in Marikana are living in fear of whose child might be next.
"It divides the community. It seems as if it's something that is demonic.
"There are groups meeting, everybody should just call a meeting. Then after that meeting [they] start fighting amongst each other. You don't know, it's demonic. Now, the focus gets lost. Everybody is fighting amongst each other accusing everyone that they want to accuse. They also accuse councillors and SAPS of taking children and making muthi, so the situation is very bad."
Tshazi has called for the removal of vacant shacks in the informal dwelling, which she believes is being used by criminals as hideouts.
She says community leaders have appealed to KZN's police commissioner to deploy additional resources and increase night patrols in the area.
"We are not blaming the SAPS but we are saying the progress is very slow.
"We don't understand what's happening because we thought it was for the last time that it was but now we see that there is a syndicate in the Marikana area, around Kokstad, that is repeatedly doing the same thing.
"We are all shaken, we are all scared. We are all very worried as mothers and women of Greater Kokstad, we are very frustrated."
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