A harrowing case of alleged child sexual abuse has come to light in Tongaat, following the brief disappearance of a 9-year-old girl on Monday, 4 August. The incident has cast a spotlight on the tragic reality of gender-based violence, even during Women’s Month.
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) received a call from the family of the missing girl, who believed she had been kidnapped after she went to an outdoor bathroom and was not seen again. Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said that reaction officers arrived at the home to find the 35-year-old stepfather and 58-year-old maternal grandmother, who had “unsuccessfully searched the area for two hours.”
After an extensive search, the girl was located several kilometres from her home. A female reaction officer interviewed the child, who revealed that her stepfather had allegedly sexually abused her since she was six. According to Balram, the girl explained that her stepfather had sexually assaulted her earlier that day while her grandmother was in the bathroom and her mother was at work. She then fled the home and was taken in by her mother’s sister.
Balram said that the family confirmed the child had made these allegations three years ago, but they “decided not to seek assistance from law enforcement today, blaming the slow progress on a previously registered criminal case.” The child further told the officer that her mother had repeatedly forced her to lie about the abuse. This interview was captured on the officer’s body camera. The minor was transported to the South African Police Services (SAPS), where a specialised unit will conduct the investigation.
Captain Jasanathan Naidoo, a communications officer at SAPS Tongaat, stressed the importance of reporting all forms of sexual assault. He said: “People who have faced assault have the right to open a case and must come forward to do so. If an individual has been raped or sexually assaulted, they may come to the station to report it or call us and officers will be sent to the victim’s home. At the station we have a special trauma unit for handling these cases.” He also noted that victims should not bathe before reporting the incident to preserve potential DNA evidence.
In Tongaat, the officer in charge of the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) desk is Warrant Officer Mainisha Maharaj-Marie, who can be contacted at the station on 032-944-9900/30/45. Naidoo clarified that any officer can assist in opening a case, but Maharaj-Marie is available to advise victims due to her specialisation.
In a similar incident that made national headlines, a 4-year-old girl was allegedly physically abused by her father in Eldorado Park. Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, national police spokesperson, said that upon police arrival, the girl was found with head injuries, bruises, and a swollen eye. The father was arrested, and the child was rushed to intensive care but tragically died in the hospital. The father’s charges were changed from attempted murder and compelled rape to murder and rape after the child’s death.
