Mozambique: Washing cars on a street corner as a means to escape a life of crime
Baby M sent back from Mozambique to South Africa as Gauteng moves to charge father as her ‘alleged rapist’
8:22 CAT | 07 May 2018
Gauteng Social Development authorities say they are “determined” to get justice for rape survivor Baby M – and that means ensuring that her father‚ who the department has identified as her “alleged rapist”‚ faces charges.
Baby M’s mother was sentenced to life in prison for aiding and abetting her rapist‚ after she insisted her gravely injured two-month-old daughter had not been raped‚ but had been injured by falling.
Despite the fact that the National Prosecuting Authority did not believe it had adequate evidence to charge Baby M’s father for her rape‚ Gauteng DSD MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza has identified him as the infant’s “alleged rapist”.
She says he should‚ “at very least” face the same charges as the baby’s mother – as he too has repeatedly insisted that his daughter wasn’t raped. He told police and ENCA’s Checkpoint that the child had been injured after the baby’s mother found him in a car with another woman‚ she tried to open his car door and he drove away. He says Baby M’s mother fell on top of her.
“If both adults were present during or around the time the crime was committed‚ it is odd that only the mother was found to be criminally liable.
“We are happy that the South African Police Services has agreed with us and has begun preparing a docket for prosecution. Along with this process‚ they have also requested a fresh analysis of semen as well as other circumstantial evidence that can lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the father‚” said Mayathula-Khoza. Questioned about whether it was legally appropriate for her department to identify the baby’s father as her alleged rapist‚ she responded: “We want justice to be done. Therefore it’s important to find the culprit. People are innocent until proven guilty‚ but we do want justice for this child.”
She admitted that her department had “dropped the ball” when it came to ensuring the infant’s safety.
“The department is outraged firstly because the actual rapist is still at large‚ roaming the streets as a free man‚ and secondly because we have since established that the child protocols were not followed when Baby M was removed from South Africa and released illegally to her aunt across the border.”
The department says investigations are under way to determine whether its staff should face disciplinary charges over the removal of the baby – who did not have a birth certificate at the time she was taken to Mozambique.
Mozambican who protected her baby’s rapist gets life sentence – South Africa
The Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) has identified Baby M’s father as the man believed to have raped the then two-month-old.
Baby M’s mother was convicted of aiding and abetting her rapist‚ after she refused to admit that the infant had been raped and insisted she’d been injured after she fell.
The baby’s father supported the mother’s claims‚ and openly supported her during the trial. He told eNCA’s Checkpoint that the seminal fluid on the baby’s nappy and private parts – which was too degraded to produce a DNA profile – should be “retested”.
He also strongly denied that he’d raped his daughter. The GDSD clearly isn’t accepting those denials.
“Following the successful conviction and sentencing of her mother for protecting the perpetrator and defeating the ends of justice‚ the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is now pursuing the alleged rapist of the two-month-old baby M who is believed to be her father‚” the department said in a statement.
The department said Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza would brief the media on Monday on “how the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) plans to approach the criminal justice system in pursuing justice for the South African-born Mozambican toddler”.
“Last week the GDSD brought Baby M from Mozambique and has placed her in protective custody through a court order.”
Source: Times Live
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