The community and family of the 22-month-old toddler, who was raped at a Newlands East daycare centre, are demanding that police arrest the owner while they await DNA results as it has been two weeks since the incident was reported and to date, no arrests have been made and the daycare is still in operation.
Family and friends from the Newlands Rapid Response Team said that the woman should be arrested for negligence and failing to protect the child while in her care.
According to a family member, the child had only been in the care of the daycare centre for a week after her mother recently found a job.
Thobile Mbhele, SAPS Newlands station commander, confirmed that on Friday, 17 May, no arrests have been made in the case as DNA analysis results need to come from the laboratory in Pretoria.
“Once the results confirm the suspect’s involvement, an arrest will be made,” said Mbhele.
The family said that they are not sure how the procedure works, however, from the doctor’s examination, the child’s genitalia had some fluids – despite her being bathed after the incident – and they are hoping the results will come back with the suspect’s DNA.
“On Monday, 6 May – the day of the incident – they took the child to King George Hospital and on Tuesday to a private doctor, who referred the child to Addington Hospital and thereafter she was referred to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, where it was confirmed by a district surgeon that there were signs of penetration,” the family member explained.
She said that as a family, all they want is for justice to be served.
“As for the DNA results, the State can deal with that later. All we want is for the crèche lady to tell us what happened to the child when the other children were taken for swimming lessons. Who was left with the child? We need answers. What was even more traumatic was the way the child reacted when she was being examined by the social worker.
“The social worker did a demonstration with a doll, showing her body parts, however, when she took a male doll out she just froze. She got so angry and started screaming ‘naughty naughty’ and smacked the doll before throwing it on the floor. That indicated that something had happened,” the family member explained.
Shaida Strachan, a family friend, referred to a similar incident in Bloemfontein that happened in a few days after the Newlands incident, in which a crèche owner was arrested for child negligence together with his employee after a three-year-old was raped by the employee who is also her nephew.
“Her crèche was closed and they both got arrested. Why is that not happening in this case?” she questioned.
During an eNCA town hall election meeting held recently with the provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the family handed over a memorandum demanding that an arrest be made and that the DNA results for this case be prioritised.
The family said that Lt Col Mkhwanazi promised to make a few calls and said that the matter would be handled with priority, and that the result would be out on Friday.
However, to date, the family has not received any communication from the commissioner’s office or the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units (FCS).
The Democratic Alliance (DA) visited SAPS Newlands to hand over a memorandum demanding that the matter get serious attention.
DA Provincial chairperson, Dean Macpherson, and DA Women’s Network (DAWN) chairperson, Remona Mckenzie, questioned the State on why DNA analysis is only done in Pretoria, making suggestions that the province should have its own analysis laboratory to cut down the backlog and delays.
Mambato Tembe, DA MP in the Social Development portfolio, said that she would also write to the Minister of the Department of Social Development to ensure that police stations have the relevant staff for rape cases. She said that in many police stations, there are no social workers to deal with rape victims and police do not have rape kits to perform their duties.
The crèche owner has since opened a case against the mother of the child, charging her with criminal injuria.
Muzi Mahlambi, KZN Department of Education spokesperson, said: “It’s quite a disturbing state of affairs. When parents leave their children in the morning, they do so trusting that they are in safe hands, not alone at home or in the streets – only to be molested by the partner of the crèche owner. We are working with law enforcement agencies for this man to be brought to book and get the sentence that he deserves.”
The toddler is currently attending assessments with the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital’s Thuthuzela Care Centre to ensure that she is rehabilitated.
