Child burnt, beaten bloody in horror abuse

Lebogang Baingapi | Thursday October 27, 2016 16:28

 

In the December incident, the minor was allegedly left unable to urinate due to swollen private parts, with a swollen face and visible sjambok bruises all over his body.

On Tuesday, the mother of the boy took to the stand before Magistrate Basetsana Keakantse and testified that she received a call from the father on October 11, 2015, informing her that the boy had been seriously burnt and was being treated at Thankane Clinic.

The 34-year-old father of Thankane village stands accused of inflicting the abuse, but in a shocking twist, the man is audaciously fighting for custody of his children, including the abused minor at the centre of the assault case.

Both parents (name withheld to protect identity of children) lost custody of their children early this year after the Magistrate’s Court had ordered that they be taken to a children’s shelter. At that time, the court  had ruled that the mother had constantly neglected the children and had failed to account for their harsh treatment at the hands of her partner.

She said she went to Thankane where she found her son hospitalised at the clinic.

The mother alleged that the father told her that he had gone to fetch sorghum flour in the house when he heard the boy crying outside due to burns.  “On December 21, 2015, I received a call again from Ditsweletse Clinic in Jwaneng that my son was admitted with serious injuries after he was assaulted by his father,” the mother testified. “I found my two-year-old in a bad state; with a swollen face, visible stroke bruises criss-crossing his body. He was unable to urinate due to swollen private parts.” The aggrieved mother said up to now, the accused has not given her a proper explanation about what happened to their son that day.

“The boy was found crying in the yard in Thankane by his elder sister who is also a minor. A relative took him to the clinic from where he was referred to Jwaneng Mine Hospital and admitted for four days.  “The boy also suffered as the father left him alone on many occasions,” the mother testified. During cross-examination the father maintained that he had not assaulted the boy and insisted that he only knew of the wounds caused by burns. “The boy was seriously burnt and worst still, he was not taken for medical attention as we only used home remedies to treat him,” the father said.

“It took months for him to heal and those are the only injuries I am aware of.” However, Inspector Neo Sebonego told the court that during investigations, the accused admitted that he had administered corporal punishment on the minor using a small stick. The punishment was allegedly because the minor was playing near a fire.

Sebonego said after receiving the case, she involved a Crime Scene Investigator who took pictures of the boy and collected evidence as the minor was too young to testify before court. “I also identified a blood-stained sjambok made of leather and string at the scene. “At that time, the accused said he used it to whip his horses, but the investigator took the sjambok to the laboratory where the blood matched the DNA of the boy. “I was surprised to learn that the sjambok was used to assault the young boy, causing multiple injuries and wounds.  “The father could not account for the wounds or give us a lead as to who could have caused the wounds, and yet he was staying with the boy,” said Sebonego. The case continues on November 24, 2016 where the father will testify alongside his witnesses.