"The Children are Crying": Three SA Children Sing Emotional Plea Against Gender-Based Violence
- Three children dressed in black plastic bags, filmed a video singing an emotional plea in response to deaths in Kempton Park
- The clip was posted on 20 September 2026, by Inanathi's mother and it quickly spread and resonated with South Africans
- Viewers were moved by the children's voices and the weight of the message behind their song
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Source: TikTok
Three children singing an emotional plea against gender-based violence stopped South Africa in its tracks this week. TikToker @ibanathimpungose posted the clip on 20 September 2026, and it struck a nerve almost immediately.
In the video, the three children stand outdoors against a cinderblock wall, draped in black plastic bags fashioned into makeshift capes. Their voices carry a haunting Zulu song: Lloyiso's 'Madoda Sabelani'
"We madoda sabelani, iyo le ngozi, iyo le ngozi, siti le ngozi. We madoda soneni. Abantwana bayalila. Baya phela bafazi." ("Hey men, respond to this danger, this danger, we are this danger. Hey men, what have we done? The children are crying. Women are dying.")
Children’s voices carry a heavy message
The informal, close-up footage carries the kind of raw energy that no polished production could manufacture. The children sing with conviction, their words cutting straight to the heart of the violence that has gripped communities around Kempton Park in Gauteng.
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What made the video land so hard was the contrast: small children, makeshift costumes, and words too heavy for their age. South Africans flooded the comments section, many too emotional to write much at all.
View the TikTok video below:
Mzansi reacts to the emotional clip
South Africans in the comments on the page could not hold back:
@Amanda-Mthembu wrote:
"U Ibanathi wasecula kangaka manje 😭🔥" ("Ibanathi is singing like this now 😭🔥")
@ZOE said:
"Umile umbuzo....madoda soneni?😭" ("That question stood....men, what have we done?")
@#Olwemihla uthando. said:
"Yoo her voice it is lovely"
@mabongi mawela added a sticker and simply wrote:
"Kodwa Ibanathi" ("But Ibanathi")
More Briefly News stories on children
- A South African woman’s patented MiDesk portable desk has reached more than 5,300 children in under-resourced schools, providing solar lighting and adjustable seating.
- A Cape Town firefighter entertained local children with a lively war-cry chant during a post-fire cleanup, earning praise online.
- A South African man recalled a frightening Spring Day incident in Gauteng in which children allegedly attacked him and damaged property.
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Source: Briefly News
