GIRL (3) DIES AFTER ALLEGEDLY BEING RAPED BY FATHER

MANZINI - On the first day of the year at Mbhuleni, a three-year-old died allegedly due to rape injuries complications.

It was gathered that the minor died supposedly from injury complications sustained in a sexual violation allegedly inflicted by her father.  The minor died at about 3am on Saturday while in the company of her mother.  Upon realising that her child was not responsive, the mother was said to have requested her brother - Sifiso Zwane – to accompany her to the community police at Mbhuleni. It was gathered that they received help from a community police member who offered transport to ferry the child to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, it was gathered that the minor was certified dead by a doctor.

Leading to the minor’s demise, her uncle, Zwane, said his niece was allegedly raped by her father at Mbhuleni in Matsapha on December 16, 2021. The mother, (*Samu), was said to have made the discovery on the day of the incident upon return from work.  In his narration, Zwane said Samu informed him that she found her child unwell after she was allegedly raped by her boyfriend (toddler’s father).  Zwane said Samu had claimed that the deceased’s father had sexually violated the minor in order to spite her (mother).   “She went to the daycare centre that they usually left their child at and gathered that she (minor) had been fetched by her father who (allegedly) raped her,” Zwane said.

Following the submissions by Samu, he claimed to have asked if she had reported the matter to the police, to which she responded to the affirmative. He said his sister had claimed to have gone to the hospital for a report after recording a statement with the police. Zwane said his sister had insinuated that she was intimidated by a group of men while in hospital.  

Threatened

These men, Samu supposed, were friends with the father of her child. According to Zwane, the mother of the minor said the men had threatened her. He said following the threats, Samu feared for her life and started to isolate herself.  This, Zwane said, resulted in her not following up on the matter with the police while it also limited the medical attention accorded to the minor as the medication was bought at pharmacies. Also, the uncle said Samu purportedly discovered that a police report into the investigation of the child’s rape had gone missing and she feared for her life because there were threats against her.  

Dumisa Zwane, a community police members at Kwaluseni, confirmed that the child was transported to hospital by him. He said she was certified dead and they were waiting to accompany the family to hospital on Wednesday for a post-mortem following the allegations that she was raped. He said the challenge was that the doctor yesterday informed them that the child died from rape complications.  On another note, a mother of a seven-year-old child with a disability left him alone in her house on New Year’s Eve.

There are claims that she informed community police members at Mbhuleni that she had gone to see her boyfriend.  According to a close family member, the mother of the child left without informing anyone that she would not be available to take care of her son until her return yesterday. “We only noticed later in the night that the child was alone in the house and this shocked us,” the source said. The source further shared that the community police were notified about the mother’s disappearance and they searched for her the entire weekend until she came back home yesterday.  Community police member Makhosini Msweli confirmed that the mother of the minor had left her child alone in her house. Msweli said upon her return, the mother’s family and the community police of the area engaged her.

“We advised and warned her against leaving her child alone. The consensus was that she would be reported to the police if she ever left her child alone again,’ Msweli said. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said  the rape case was reported. She said if there were challenges or dissatisfaction in the manner the matter was being dealt with, the family could approach the station commander. Regarding the mother who abandoned her child who has a disability, Vilakati said the matter was not in their records. However, it was possible that it was reported, but not recorded at the time.

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