Alleged murder of Chelsea Jacobs appears in court

By Mishkah Anthony
2 August 2008

The Bellville Magistrate’s Court was packed when 23-year-old Marshall Gesels appeared for the abduction, rape and murder of a five-year-old girl from Delft on the Cape Flats yesterday.

Little Chelsea Jacobs died in the Red Cross Children’s Hospital earlier this week after being brutally attacked.

Reports say her family knows Gesels and that he had even helped search for her after her disappearance.

The case was postponed to next Friday, with the family saying they will strongly oppose bail for Gesels.

Congress of South African trade Unions say they are outraged at this senseless death.

COSATU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, Tony Ehrenreich says “Cosatu is concerned about the deaths and murders of innocent children in many of our townships and while we extent our condolences to the family.”

“We want to say that as a society we have to respond more urgently to ensure the safety of our children. These kinds of acts, not only bring incredible pain to the soul of our nation.”

Tony says, this kinds of acts also does start a murderous rage in many of our people because the nature of the atrocities.
He goes on to saying that, “If we are to keep our society together, we have to ensure that we urgently try to stop these kinds of practices from taking place”

The federation says they understand that if we are to help to undo this social fragmentation in the society we have to urgently restore our societal sense of humanity.