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The Gauteng department of social development has taken steps to seek prosecution of Baby M’s father.
“Baby M”, as she is known publicly, was found to have injuries consisted with rape when she was two months old.
The toddler’s mother was sentenced life imprisonment for aiding and abetting her rapist.
The department approached the court to make to make a case for the father to be prosecuted for his role in the injuries suffered by Baby M.
“We’re pursuing this case because the mother was convicted based on circumstantial evidence and this man must be charged in the same way,” said department spokesperson Mbangwa Xaba.
“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,” said Gauteng’s Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza at a media briefing on Monday.
The department said the South African Police Services had begun preparing a docket for prosecution of the baby’s father.
Mayathula-Khoza said the police would do another analysis of semen found on the baby’s nappy and other circumstantial evidence.
Baby M is temporarily kept in protective state custody while the department arranges for a permanent solution.
“We want to give her documentation; that is the first priority,” said Xaba.
Taking into account another spike in media reporting of femicide cases, Xaba said the department would host a memorial lecture at the Soweto Theatre on May 12.
“The intention is to honour all the victims of femicide even though it is dubbed under Karabo Mokeona,” he said.
The main objective of the event is to commemorate the life of Mokoena and other young women killed in Soweto between April and May 2017, to create awareness on the killing of young women and the aftermaths in the families and society.
Also on Monday, Zakhele Mbhele, the Democratic Alliance shadow minister of police made a visit to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit at the Mangaung police station to check if the unit was adequately resourced and staffed.
This was one of the “oversight” visits that function under their theme of addressing gender-based violence. Mbhele said his visit revealed concerning conditions at the police station.
Mbhele said they found cases of police officers in this unit with criminal records, some of which were cases of wrongful conviction. He stressed that the unit had a management issue.
“[There are] bigger issues you might find in the system,” said Mbhele.
“It’s patently clear that police members who have criminal records would either be not fit to serve in the SAPS and especially to deal with children and victims of sexual violence, or they might have been failed by mismanagement to ensure correct records concerning their criminal status,” Mbhele later wrote in a statement.
Mbhele said they would present these finding to a Parliamentary committee and the police station’s management would need to answer to Parliament.
