Rape, burn victim: Is mom okay?

january 21 2014 A little girl who was raped and burnt in delft recovers in the ICU of a city hospital - Photo: Supplied

january 21 2014 A little girl who was raped and burnt in delft recovers in the ICU of a city hospital - Photo: Supplied

Published Jan 24, 2014

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Cape Town - She was raped, doused in petrol and set alight. And yet despite her pain, the little girl only wants to know how her mother is.

This heartbreaking scene was painted on Thursday by the child’s grandmother.

“She’s talking. But she’s still in a lot of pain. She’s been sleeping all the time, after she has her injections for the pain.”

Her grandmother said the first thing she had said through the bandages, plasters and the pipes that help keep her alive was: “How is Mom?”

No members of the Delft family have been named, at the request of hospital authorities and police, who want to protect the child’s identity for her safety.

The grandmother said the girl’s mother had collapsed on Tuesday when her daughter’s alleged rapist had appeared in court.

The grandmother said the mother was now being treated at another Cape Town hospital, which is also not being named.

The grandmother reported: “I saw my grandchild on Tuesday, when she came out of theatre. She was bandaged all over.”

“I don’t know if she will survive – she burned so much.”

Of her own state, she admitted, speaking in Xhosa: “When I speak about this, my heart is not okay. But I feel a bit better, knowing he (the alleged perpetrator) is no longer in the community.”

The hospital where the child is being treated, said on Thursday yesterday: “The nine-year-old girl is still in a critical but stable condition in the intensive-care unit, but the medical team are satisfied with her progress at the moment.”

Cape Argus

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