For five months the mother of a seven-year-old girl has been crying for help, pushing for answers and begging for justice — when suddenly the police ministry and AfriForum speak out, each with a different message.
While the police ministry issued a statement reassuring the public that the investigation into the alleged rape is on track, all suspects had been identified and DNA samples taken, AfriForum claimed they were not shielding a rape suspect, but had advised their client, identified by the SAPS as a suspect, not to submit a DNA sample.
The case, which appears to have been ignored for months, started making headlines in recent days as a groundswell of support emerged for the child, who is now eight years of age.
On Friday, basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube said she had been looking into the case and posted on social media that she was committed to ensuring the child will receive justice.
At the same time, the Eastern Cape department of education deregistered the Matatiele school where the alleged rape happened. The child is alleged to have been raped by a man at the school on October 14 last year, while she was waiting for transport.
Her mother has gone public with the allegation and spoken out about the incident, identifying herself and naming the child. In an interview on the Hope Revolution podcast, the mother explained why she thinks the school has failed to investigate the matter and investigators have failed to identify the alleged rapist.
She said the child had been examined by a doctor, who confirmed that sexual assault had taken place. She had taken the little girl to the local clinic for care and counselling and the matter was reported to the police.
Since then, little appears to have transpired until public outrage began mounting on social media platforms last week, with calls for action. The school’s principal was named as one of the suspects in the case.
There was confusion when, on Saturday, Afrikaner civil rights group AfriForum issued a statement rejecting allegations that it was protecting a rape suspect. The organisation said the principal was their client, and that any requests from the police for a DNA sample were an abuse of process.
They said their client was not a suspect, and that SAPS had placed him in “an untenable position” by asking for a cheek swab, because whether or not he complied, he appeared guilty.
AfriForum said they had instructed the principal to co-operate with the police “within the scope of the Criminal Procedures Act”, and that they had advised him not to provide any samples “until acceptable rationale is provided”.
“The absence of a completed investigation coupled with prejudicial media pronouncements” along with the deregistering of the school by the Eastern Cape education department had caused prejudice to the principal, staff, teachers, pupils, parents and the community at large, AfriForum said.
However, in a statement issued on the same day, the ministry of police announced that three suspects had been identified in the rape case, and that all necessary statements had been taken and DNA tests had been conducted. The ministry called on the public to understand “that law enforcement is actively involved” in the matter.
While it is now unclear whether the principal is a suspect, or if he has submitted a DNA sample, experts agree that the case has been handled slowly, badly and the principal was wrong to refuse a DNA sample.
It makes sense for a suspect to volunteer their DNA so that it can be used to run a check on that one case. If the suspect has to be compelled to give a sample, the police are then entitled to do whatever they want with that DNA and run it through any database they wish.
— Forensic and investigative psychologist Gerard Labuschagne
“If you are a suspect, the police have a right to take a sample. And in every case where the suspect claims innocence, it makes sense for them to volunteer their DNA so that it can be used to run a check on that one case. If the suspect has to be compelled to give a sample, the police are then entitled to do whatever they want with that DNA and run it through any database they wish,” said forensic and investigative psychologist Gerard Labuschagne.
Labuschagne, former head of the SAPS Investigative Psychology section who is now in private practice, said it was common practice to call for voluntary samples from entire communities in cases where a serial killer was operating. “Of course if someone refuses to give you a swab, they immediately become a suspect,” he said.
Dr Shaheda Omar of the Teddy Bear clinic said a police request for a DNA sample was not an indication of guilt or suspicion, but rather proof of rigour and thoroughness by investigators.
I am in practice and every single week I come across cases in which small children have been victimised and the police are reluctant to register the case. This not only means that children are being refused justice, but it is playing with the national statistics.
— Child rights consultant and former director of Childline Joan van Niekerk
“A school principal should in any case be beyond reproach and be seen to willingly co-operate. When an allegation has been made, the police have to follow up to prove or refute it. By asking for a sample from any man linked to the school shows they are after procedure,” Omar said, adding that the best interests of the child should always be prioritised over all other concerns.
Child rights consultant and trainer, and former director of Childline, Joan van Niekerk, said the women’s sector was becoming increasingly involved with the case, and calls were being made for swift justice.
“I am in practice and every single week I come across cases in which small children have been victimised and the police are reluctant to register the case. This not only means that children are being refused justice, but it is playing with the national statistics,” she said.
“If an offence took place somewhere that is familiar to the child, and the offender is known, then action should ideally happen fast. In this case it could be that the police didn’t act speedily and they didn’t manage to secure evidence in time,” she said.
She added it was not “appropriate or acceptable” for anyone asked by an investigator to submit a sample in a child rape case to refuse to do so.
“You can’t refuse. And that information is vital, particularly if the perpetrator is HIV-positive. The child needs to be put on treatment immediately.”
She said activists had been working on improving legislation and the application of legislation for many years, and still children were regularly being let down by the system.
“Sometimes I feel more anger towards the system than I do for the perpetrator — particularly if the perpetrator is a child. These are people who know the ropes, who discourage children from reporting their cases because it’s too hard. They fail children at every turn,” she said, referring to the fact that a child witness is subjected to repeat court appearances, questioning, accusations, cross-examination and repeated violations in the quest for a conviction. “But still, we fight on.”
- Despite the publication of details in various platforms and media, TimesLIVE Premium has declined to name the victim, her mother or the principal in line with journalistic ethics.
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