By Buziwe Nocuze
A man accused of raping his ex-girlfriend’s eight-year-old daughter and infecting her with HIV threatened the woman after his release from custody.
The assaults took place while the victim’s mom was dating the man.’
“He is not my daughter’s father. I already had a child when I met him. I trusted him because he loved my daughter as his own,” said the mother, who lives in Philippi East, Cape
Town, and has a two-year-old child with the man.
“At the beginning of the year I noticed changes in my daughter’s behaviour. While I was still wondering what the problem could be, my cousin told me to check my daughter when she’s bathing because she could not see her private parts properly.”
When the mother offered to bathe her the following day, the girl refused.
“I knew that there was something wrong when she said she was old enough to bathe herself. I bathed her and I was hurt and shocked to see warts on her private parts. I couldn’t hold back tears because right there I knew that I had failed my daughter,” said the mother.
The young girl cried and told her mom that the boyfriend had been raping her since last September, and told her if she ever tells anyone he would kill all of them.
“I took her to the hospital, and the doctors confirmed that indeed she was raped,” said the mother.
“The sad part is that my daughter has been infected with HIV. I can never forgive myself for what happened to her because I am the one who brought that man into our lives.”
She went to open a case of rape at the beginning of February at Philippi East Police Station.
“He was arrested, and I was hoping that he was going to stay in jail. I was shocked to receive a call from him threatening me.”
The mother contacted the detective handling the case to ask why she was not informed about the suspect’s release.
The detective allegedly responded that the suspect had every right to call the mother because they were sharing a child.
“I am afraid. We are not safe because he said I thought I was clever when I got him arrested. If anything happens to my family, I want people to know that we were failed by our South African law,” said the mother.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said if the mother is not satisfied with the service she is receiving regarding the case, she is encouraged to make an appointment to see the station commander to raise her concerns.
Pictured above: Philippi East Police Station, where an alleged rapist was held but released.
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
