Durban - A social worker tasked with handling the Baby X case was taken to task at the Durban High Court for not being aware that one of the murdered child’s siblings had been involved in an “abuse” incident at a home where she was supposed to be safe.
Judge Mohini Moodley lambasted Mahashni Naidoo for not knowing that one of Baby X’s siblings, who was put in a home, was involved in an incident of abuse at the facility.
Social Development Department spokesperson Ncumisa Ndelu said the sibling and two other girls had witnessed “unacceptable” behaviour from a boy at the home. The home had dealt with the incident, and the boy was no longer at the home.
The death of Baby X at the hands of her mother and grandmother took the national spotlight in 2014.
The grandmother died in custody awaiting trial, while the mother was convicted of her murder. She cannot be named because she was also found guilty of sexual assault against the child’s two older siblings, whose identities must be protected.
During her testimony, Naidoo said although the family had basic amenities at their home, they did not always have food.
Withholding food was used as an instrument of punishment when the children did not comply with the mother’s instructions, she said.
The abuse resulted in one of the children saying although they forgave their mother, they did not want to go back to living with her.
“Nobody would want to put children back in that situation,” she said.
The prosecutor, advocate Cheryl Naidu, pointed to Statistics South Africa figures that showed that about 2 600 children had been killed in the past three years.
Referring to the abuse Baby X suffered, which included putting out cigarettes on her vagina and inserting chilli peppers into it, Naidu said the child was a victim of repeated violence.
“For whatever reason, she hated Baby X,” Naidu said.
The advocate argued that the mother should receive a sentence of not less than 25 years.
Defence advocate Murray Pitman argued that Moodley should sentence Baby X’s mother as though she was a teenager.
Pitman argued that it had been established that the mother had the mental capacity of a 17-year-old.
He said it should also be noted that the mother had been sexually abused by her father when she was still a child and that Baby X’s grandmother had been a domineering figure.
He argued that the sentence should be 10 years, which would include the four years that she has already spent in prison.
“Twenty-five years is practically a life sentence,” he said.
By the time the 32-year-old mother came out of prison, she would practically be at “death’s door”, and this would defeat the purpose of rehabilitating her and reintroducing her to society, Pitman said.
“You do not sentence from a position of righteous anger; it is done impassionately,” he said.
The matter was adjourned until next week.