We are shocked at the current spate of child killings.

We are shocked at the current spate of child killings.

This is not normal human social behaviour.

It is against all the norms and values that prevail in our communities. It may be old-fashioned to harangue people about moral values, but statistics show a tragic number of children still die at the hands of their parents, relatives and neighbours.

They are most at risk at home - where they should be safest. It used to be said that it takes a village to raise a child, but this truism seems absent today.

Frighteningly, the idea of community has been eroded to the extent that our children no longer seem to be our prized futures.

Moral values exist for a reason. They proscribe abhorrent human behaviour. At the same time, they act as a moral code within which communities can live and thrive.

The 21st century is increasingly becoming that of the individual. Individualism is all very well, except when it harms the common good.

While the veracity of old-fashioned ideas may be tested from time to time, it is not good that moral values are cast aside without any viable replacements.

The spate of killings of children in society should be condemned by all right-thinking persons. It is the duty of society to safeguard its children. We have to rekindle the values of ubuntu to banish the monsters in and among us.