I don’t know if the debate got as heated in your house, as it did in mine, but I’m pretty sure most South Africans have an opinion on the Pretoria child rape story.
The prevailing opinion in my home is that the man whose identity is now known to the entire country, should be castrated while hanging from the highest rafters.
The females in my household were also in agreement that - gauging from the video making the rounds - the media shouldn’t use words like “allegedly” and “suspect” when referring to him, because he is “obviously” guilty.
In case you don’t know the story, a 20-year-old man was caught naked and bloodied in the toilets of The Dros restaurant in Pretoria.
It appears he had followed a seven-year-old girl from the play area into the toilets, where he allegedly raped her.
There are lots of stories making the rounds about him having drunk copious amounts of liquor beforehand, to the fact that he states on his CV he likes working with little children.
His pregnant fiancé is reportedly a preschool teacher. Now I need you to notice how careful I am with my words when I talk about this story.
Reason is I want this man to face the law and - if found guilty - to end up in an especially tiny prison cell for the rest of his life.
Because if we are not careful with how we handle the facts, the speculation and the rumours, then he may just walk free.
Whether you like it or not, the law is very clear a suspect (which he is legally, albeit not morally) may not be identified before he has pleaded in court.
Only a court can find him guilty, based on evidence presented to it.
And since even monsters deserve a fair trial, he can easily argue he has been prejudiced by the media.
The truth is, this is not about this matter at all. It is about the law and future cases where suspects may be wrongfully accused.
Just imagine for a moment someone is accused of a horrible crime they did not commit and a passionately disgusted someone decides to take action against them!
So it is ignorant and wrong of those who are screaming that the media is protecting this guy because he is white.
We are protecting his identity, because it is the law.