Pretoria - The mother of a 2-year-old girl allegedly raped by her uncle says her family members have turned their backs on her for involving the police in the matter.
With tears on her eyes, the mother said yesterday: “I am so hurt. My mother and aunt, a nurse at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and a member of the police, walked past me laughing and enjoying seeing me in pain. My aunt, on the other hand says she would take in my brother should the court grant him bail.
“I do not even know why they are doing this because they know my brother is bad. He is on drugs and he steals. We have to charge our phones holding them or they will go missing. How do you turn around and act like you do not know that the boy is no good?”
Her brother, 27 was due to appear in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court yesterday, but the matter was delayed due to load shedding.
Angry EFF members protest outside the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court, where a 27-year-old man is appearing for the alleged rape of his 2-year-old niece. @EFFSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/wuzS3Te48u
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) October 18, 2022
EFF members and other gender-based violence activists had gathered outside the court to show support to the mother and demand that the accused be denied bail.
EFF ward 36 branch secretary in Soshanguve Block WW, Dorothy Singo, said: “This is sickening, to be honest. And once again, we have women supporting a perpetrator of gender-based violence.
“The children’s grandmother is a nurse and she turned her back on her daughter for involving the police. The aunt works for the police, but she is also supporting the child’s grandmother.
“We are hurt and disturbed as the people of Soshanguve. We will continue to support the mother of the child and we hope justice will be served.
“This is simply unacceptable. This woman needs the support of her mother, but the mother takes this matter for granted and thinks she can solve such a serious matter with a family meeting. We are hurt as women.”
The heartbroken 36-year-old mother of the toddler could not hold back her tears while displaying the gruesome images of her child, who she said needed to be stitched up following the incident.
The child is under heavy medical treatment that includes ARVs. There are also images of the child sitting next to a pool of vomit as she struggles to stomach the treatment.
The incident occurred around 8pm on September 24 when the mother of the child visited the house where her brother lived with their mother. She had gone there to clean the house because the mother had been away.
She said they had load shedding and while she was busy in one room, her brother watched her daughter in another. Suddenly he was playing music on his phone loudly.
She said it was at that time that she heard her daughter scream in pain. She rushed to the room to find his brother naked next to the child.
This is the latest incident of rape involving young girls. The Pretoria News reported yesterday that pandemonium had broken out in court at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court during the appearance of a 30-year-old man accused of raping and murdering 4-year-old Bokgabo Poo.
Ntokozo Zikhali had to be whisked to safety by the police after Poo’s angry father, Irvin Ndlovu, supported by community members, attempted to attack him.
Zikhali has been charged with the rape and murder of the young girl at Wattville, Ekurhuleni, in Gauteng two weeks ago.
Poo’s remains were found in different places last week in what was believed to be a ritual killing. Some of her body parts are still missing. The girl’s mutilated body was found buried in a shallow grave in Tamboville, Benoni.
Zikhali had to run for his life after Ndlovu jumped the benches inside the court and charged at him, trying to take the law into his own hands.
Zikhali has been charged with kidnapping, rape, murder, defeating the ends of justice and violation of a corpse.
It later emerged that the man was out on bail for allegedly raping a 9-year-old girl when he allegedly committed the latest crime.
South Africa has become a dangerous place for children in recent years. At least 549 children, including toddlers, were reportedly killed in the first six months of this year.
Pretoria News