Struck Down by a Stray Bullet
A five-year-old girl was tragically killed by a stray bullet in Nyanga while she was walking to the shop with her aunt, igniting outrage and renewed demands for immediate safety measures from community leaders.
The incident occurred on Monday evening along Klipfontein Road, Lusaka, as gunfire erupted in the vicinity shortly before 7 PM.
As per a local resident, the young girl had just left home with her aunt to purchase groceries for dinner when the shooting happened.
“Her aunt enlisted her to accompany her to the store. They had barely been out for 10 minutes when three gunshots rang out. The aunt carried the now-weak child, and the bullet impacted her back and exited through the front,” the community member recounted.
With no ambulance on hand, the family resorted to private transportation to expedite her arrival at KTC Day Hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The community member reported that a R4 rifle cartridge was later found at the scene.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk stated: “Nyanga police registered a murder following a shooting incident on 28 July 2025 at approximately 6:40 PM at Klipfontein Road, Lusaka, Nyanga, where a five-year-old child was shot and fatally wounded. Hospital staff informed members that the child arrived with a gunshot wound to her upper body after being struck by a stray bullet while returning from the shop.”
Nyanga CPF secretary-general Dumisani Qwebe confirmed he was made aware of the tragedy on Monday evening, insisting: “We must reiterate: we cannot allow our children to be killed like this. It’s incredibly difficult for the community. Whatever the underlying issue was, it should not have resulted in an innocent child losing her life. It’s akin to committing treason. Taking a child’s life is unforgivable.”
The human rights organization Ilitha Labantu condemned the child’s death as part of a troubling trend of violence against children on the Cape Flats.
Spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali remarked: “The loss of such a vulnerable life under these horrific circumstances is not only sorrowful but absolutely intolerable. This incident is not an isolated occurrence. Just last week, 7-year-old Lolitha Kowa was murdered in Khayelitsha. Our children are being taken away from us.”
He emphasized that the ongoing violence against children is a direct consequence of systemic failure among authorities.
“Violence in the townships of the Cape Flats has kept families and communities under siege for far too long. There has been no substantial action from the City of Cape Town or the Western Cape Government to effectively combat the epidemic of violence. Our children cannot be treated as collateral damage in a dysfunctional system.”