The Limpopo Social Development Department plans to relocate five-year-old rape victim *Dikeledi from her village for safety reasons.
The Grade R pupil at Mmamatsha village at Ga-Molepo village, outside Polokwane, has allegedly been raped by three different men since she was three years old.
Her ordeal was revealed by The Star on Monday, nearly two years after she was first raped.
Initially, Dikeledi was raped in 2010, aged three, allegedly by a 27-year-old man.
The suspect was arrested, but his case was provisionally withdrawn because the DNA test results and social workers’ report were outstanding. He was released last month.
On May 25 this year Dikeledi was allegedly raped again on her way from school. A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with rape.
Last Wednesday, she was raped for the third time.
A 27-year-old man was immediately arrested and charged with rape by the Mankweng police.
The second and third suspects remain in custody.
On Monday, the provincial Social Development Department described the repeated rapes as unacceptable.
“We are more concerned about the safety of the child,” said department spokesman Phuti Seloba.
He said the aim was to protect the girl’s future.
“We believe the community raises a child, and in this case the community failed the child,” Seloba said.
The ANC has also slammed the attacks on the girl as inhumane and gruesome.
“Children have a right to play and grow in a nurturing and secure environment,” said ANC Limpopo spokesman Makonde Mathivha.
The girl’s mother said she was not opposed to relocating.
“I asked the social workers to come and discuss that suggestion with me and my husband,” said Dikeledi’s mother.
On Monday, she took the girl to see psychologists and social workers.
*Not her real name
The Star