By Mosibudi Mangena
The parents of a four-year-old child at Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, are in police custody charged with the rape, abuse and murder of their toddler.
This is as outrageous as it is shocking. It is hard to imagine how any parents could do that to their own child, except that they are both alleged to be heavy drug users.
Even animals do not rape their little ones.
Four people appeared in court in Johannesburg on a charge of forcing a four-year-old boy to smoke mandrax, a deed that was filmed and went viral on social media.
The four Newclare adults include the mother of the little boy.
It’s difficult to wrap your head around such a heartbreakingly egregious act unless you factor in the drug element.
Tiffany Nicole Meek has been arrested for the murder of her 11-year-old son, Jayden-Leek Meek, in Johannesburg. Again, drugs are allegedly in the mix.
Kelly Smith, Steveno van Rhyn and Jacques Appollis are serving life sentences in prison for the trafficking of Kelly’s daughter, Joshlin Smith. All three were said to be long-term drug users.
These are just a few examples of shocking incidents that keep happening, making us wonder where humanity is going in our country. The thing is, drugs make people do things that normal people would not do.
Drugs of all descriptions are ubiquitous in our communities. They range from nyaope for the very young; marijuana for young adults; and then the more dangerous ones, such as mandrax, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine for hardcore addicts.
Add to this alcohol, which is found in every vicinity and advertised to saturation on our television screens and other news outlets.
Our society is being destroyed in front of our eyes. It is particularly galling to see youngsters wasting away while parents watch in anguish.
The crucial point to note is that drugs are multipliers of crime. Apart from alcohol and dagga, the consumption of all other drugs is a crime.
But the taking of these substances leads to, or is associated with, other crimes, such as murder, rape, gender-based violence, theft, human trafficking, money laundering, brothel running, robberies and the proliferation of illegal guns.
Ill-discipline in schools and the inability of kids to learn are often associated with drugs.
Citizens are up in arms about these crimes and the phenomenon of illegal immigration. Drug trafficking is connected to illegal migration.
We can complain until the cows come home about the abuse and murder of women and children in South Africa, but unless we seriously tackle the scourge, we will not stem this serious problem.
The country is in a crisis, and the declaration of war against drugs should be an appropriate step to take.
Such a declaration would mean not only the orientation of the police, intelligence and other elements of the criminal justice system, but also the mobilisation of the entire society towards the effort to defeat drugs. proliferation.
Parents should be obliged by law to report the taking of drugs by their children. So should the school authorities.
Councillors should have as one of their tasks the identification of drug prevalence in their wards.
Drug rehabilitation centres should be established widely to help those already hooked.
Churches, NGOs, social workers, and the medical profession should all be roped in to play their part in eliminating drug-taking in our country.
Without defeating the drug scourge, we will not be able to advance sufficiently as a nation. Crime will continue unabated. The establishment of small businesses and their sustainability would be tough.
If we bite the bullet and declare such a holy war on drugs, we would have a chance to build a safe and prosperous country.
• Professor Mangena is former minister of science and technology
