POLOKWANE – The MEC for Social Development, Nkakareng Rakgoale has called on anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of a suspect(s) involved in the murder and mutilation of a toddler to come forward with information.

The toddler’s body was discovered in a black sports bag near a filling station on the N1 south of Polokwane.

Read more: Info sought after cops find toddler’s body along N1 outside Polokwane

Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said preliminary police investigations revealed the deceased was chopped up with an unknown object before he was put inside the bag.

“The toddler had a bandage wrapped around his left leg and left arm and was already in a state of decomposition,” he added and said the child could be aged between two and three years.

Rakgoale has described the incident as ‘inhumane and horrific’ and said it puts the safety of children in the spotlight.

“May 29 will mark the start of National Child Protection Week. The week is observed to raise awareness on the rights of children as articulated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and specifically the Children’s Act (Act No. 38 of 2005). Society as whole must self-introspect on how it treats children,” she said.

Rakgoale added that society must ensure that children are always protected.

“The discovery of the child’s mutilated body dumped along a busy road says that we still have people who have a total disregard for the law and for human lives. We urge anyone with information as to the identity of the toddler as well as the crime committed, to come forward and inform the police, for justice to prevail,” she said.