Why no arrest yet after toddler’s death?

A Missionvale family is grieving after the death of two-year-old Lutho Situngu, who was killed when a taxi crashed through the fence and into the yard where he was playing with two of his friends.

That was almost two weeks ago and by Tuesday no-one had been arrested.

The community is demanding justice, claiming that the man driving the taxi was under the influence of alcohol.

The police, however, did not test the man — no breathalyser was used nor blood tests done.

They say when they arrived at the scene, officers could not obtain a statement from anyone to say he was the driver, and for an arrest to be made someone needed to attest to having seen him driving the vehicle.

They say they had to remove him from the scene for his own safety as residents were beating him up.

Sadly, their response offers little comfort to the parents who have to pick up the pieces and learn to live without their son.

With almost two weeks gone by and no-one held accountable — and a statement taken from one of the witnesses 10 days after the fatal accident — it does not appear that the police are doing everything they can to ensure the perpetrator is brought to book.

Simply put, the police failed moments after Lutho’s death to balance the need to get the man believed to have been driving the taxi to safety and the need for justice for the boy’s death.

Their shoddy handling of this case is an example of why communities are increasingly losing trust in our law enforcement authorities.

While it will not bring Lutho back, the law must be followed to the letter and the family must have closure and know that justice has been served for their son.