News

Eldorado Park Mourns Baby Nikita as Calls Grow to End Child Abuse

Published

2 months ago

August 19, 2025

Chiraag

Baby Nikita funeral, Eldorado Park community mourning, child abuse protests Johannesburg, South Africa GBVF crisis, family and activists gathered, Joburg ETC

The community of Eldorado Park stood still this week as hundreds of residents gathered to lay four-year-old Baby Nikita to rest. Her small white coffin, carried out of Don Mateman Hall, became the heartbreaking symbol of a community demanding change.

Nikita’s death has shaken Johannesburg and reignited anger over the growing crisis of child abuse in Black and Coloured communities. At the centre of the case are her 32-year-old father, who faces charges of rape, murder, and child abuse, and her 39-year-old mother, who is accused of failing to report the crimes. Both have abandoned their bail application after appearing at the Protea Magistrate’s Court, a decision many locals say was the only way to avoid a hostile reception.

A Funeral That Became a Protest

What should have been a quiet goodbye quickly became a rallying cry. Eldorado Park residents filled the hall, joined by faith leaders, politicians, and activists. Among those present were ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba, City of Joburg Speaker Margaret Arnolds, and EFF provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga.

From the pulpit, Bishop Dalton Adams reminded mourners that Nikita’s death was not an isolated tragedy. He invoked the names of other children lost to abuse, including Joslyn Smith and Jayden-Lee Meek, saying that the community could no longer stay silent. His words drew strong applause when he urged Coloured women to rise up and reject the harmful stereotypes that paint them as “unfit for motherhood.”

A Community in Anger and Mourning

For activists on the ground, the case has highlighted both the trauma children face at home and the silence that too often enables abuse. Cheryl Pillay, speaking to mourners, urged families and neighbours to act when they see signs of harm: “If you see something, say something. Do not look away.”

Community leader Keith Duarte echoed the anger, noting that if Nikita had survived, her life would have been marked by trauma. He said the parents were safer behind bars, adding that outside they “would not have been received very well.”

The grief was deeply personal for Nikita’s uncle, John Edward Vaalytn, who called her death nothing short of murder. “Anyone who abuses their child is not doing so by accident,” he told mourners.

The Bigger Picture

Nikita’s burial at Nasrec Cemetery was not just a farewell but also a reckoning. Her story is one of many that have sparked national debate about gender-based violence, child safety, and the responsibility of parents to protect rather than harm.

As one resident put it outside the service, “If we as parents are the ones killing and raping our children, where are they safe?”

The question now is whether the outrage will become action, or whether South Africa will continue to bury children whose lives are cut short by the very people meant to protect them.