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3-YR-OLD GIRL SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AT PRESCHOOL

31/01/2022 10:32:00 Setsabile Nkambule

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MBABANE – A preschool, which is meant to be a sanctuary for minors, has turned out to be a den of sexual violation for a three-year-old girl.

The safety net of the girl fell off as she was allegedly molested by the preschool’s groundsman, who is estimated to be in his early 30s. The shocking incident allegedly took place on January 20, 2022. The preschool is located not far from the Manzini central business district (CBD), but will not be named in order to protect the survivor. According to *Melo’s father, he became suspicious after noticing a strange behaviour from his daughter immediately after fetching her from the nursery. He said while in the car, his daughter told him that she could not sit because she experienced pain in her private parts.

Sitting

“When she got in the car, I noticed that she did not sit properly. I first thought that she just wanted to stand while we were driving home, but I then decided to ask her why she was not sitting down and that is when she told me that her private area was painful due to an uncle at school who carries two brooms, placing his hands in her private area,” he alleged. The father said he then decided to take the daughter to school the following day to enquire more on the matter. He mentioned that as soon as he told the teachers about the issue, they quickly concluded that it was impossible as according to them, the accused was a kind man who did not talk much. He said he then left his child at the school to later find her sitting in a corner alone.

He said as they were leaving the school, the child pointed at the groundsman and told him (father) that it was the uncle who supposedly performed weird acts on her. “As we were passing by the man, my daughter repeatedly told me that it was the man who had put his hands in her private parts,” alleged the distraught father. The guardian further said it was at that moment that he decided to go to the police station to report the case. Also, he said he took his daughter to hospital three days later, where it was confirmed that she had bruises on her private parts.
He said the doctor also confirmed that the child had been molested. He mentioned that he could not share much details as police were already handling the issue and did not want the investigations to be disturbed.

He also said since the matter was still being investigated, he had not been sending his daughter to school. When reached for comment, the head of the preschool requested not to comment on the matter. She said this was because there were a number of people she had to contact before commenting about it. “Can I not comment on the issue. This is because there are a lot of people who first need to address this issue before I respond,” she said. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the case. She said they were currently investigating it.

Investigations

“A case has been opened and currently we are doing our investigations. No one has been arrested yet. The case is one which needs special care as it involves a minor who we want to ensure does not get traumatised in all of this,” she said. Meanwhile, Director of Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) Nonhlanhla Dlamini stated that gender-based violence (GBV) needed to be considered as a national emergency and government needed to intervene as according to them, it was on the rise. “This is sad and what makes it frustrating is that every day we deal with these cases. Just like HIV, GBV too needs to be a national emergency in order for us to solve it as if we do not, we are creating a generation of angry and traumatised people ,” she said.

Dlamini requested parents to be observant on the changes in their children’s behaviours as it would be a sign of deeper issues. This publication recently reported on a similar case where a teacher had been arrested for allegedly being caught raping a four-year-old. The incident was said to have happened at Lawuba in the Shiselweni Region. According to the police statements, the minor was heading to the shop and while on her way, she met the teacher who allegedly told her to rush to the shop so that they could walk back together. It was alleged that on her way back, she found the teacher waiting for her under a tree. In the statement, the teacher thereafter told her that he had money he placed under a tree in a nearby forest. They then allegedly proceeded to the tree in the forest and upon arrival; the teacher allegedly raped the minor. According to the police reports, the minor cried and further screamed for help while the accused chocked her. According to the reports, she was heard by her uncle, who proceeded to the direction in which the screams were coming from, where he found the teacher allegedly raping the minor.

Statistics

It should be noted that SWAGAA, in its statistics released last month, revealed that sexual abuse was the second type after emotional abuse in their analysis of services rendered. In the report for December 2021, the organisation analysed statistics which were as a result of psychosocial services rendered to survivors of abuse in four sites: Manzini, Simunye, Hlatsi, and Pigg’s Peak. This, the organisation stated, also included survivors who received post-abuse care under Insika Yakusasa project. The overview of the statistics reflected that the organisation’s Counselling Department provided post-abuse care services to a total of 76 clients who reported gender-based violence cases, that is, the client was either sexually, physically, neglect, financially, or emotionally abused. Worth noting in the report was that Manzini had the highest number of post-related cases which was 34 while there were 25 in Hhohho, 10 in Lubombo, and seven in Shiselweni. The analysis also showed that there were 59 recorded cases of emotional abuse, four of neglect, eight of physical abuse and 12 of sexual abuse.