Durban - A 20-year-old woman who is the mother of a 2-year-old who was born as a result of allegedly being raped by her father has pleaded with law enforcement to catch the 41-year-old man, who is still at large.
The victim alleged that her father had raped her in July 2018, and it was not until 2020 that she opened a case with the police.
The toddler, who turns 3 on Friday, does not know who his father is.
“I do not know if I will ever tell him, it is really something difficult to begin to explain to him.”
She said she had been living with her father in Hammarsdale when the alleged rape took place.
“It was not until late in 2019 that I left to live with my mother in Inanda – then we had to flee from there as he had started threatening us. I’ve been running and hiding ever since. From there we fled to Bester then Mzinyathi, Nhlungwana as well as Ndwedwe. I am tired of running now – he must be caught and justice served.”
The victim said that after opening a case with the police there seemed to be little or no progress made, and she then took to social media, pleading for help and sharing her story.
She said that an NGO answered her plea, and it helped her get a DNA test. In September last year the results of the test came back, following which police said the suspect would be sought.
“We heard nothing of an arrest until January this year, when we heard that he had already appeared in court in relation to the rape. I asked how could he appear in court without us knowing? We didn’t even know that he had been arrested.”
She said that at the end of last month the investigating officer in the matter came to them with the dates of her father’s court appearances, with the first date being May 5.
The day before he was supposed to appear in court her son disappeared.
“My mother phoned me telling me this, then I phoned people in the community to help look for him (the child). He had been playing in the yard when he disappeared”.
She said that the community in Inanda searched for him.
“Someone then saw a man with a child – it was my son – and he left him at a tavern. Then he got into his car and drove off.
“The following day we went to court, but four hours passed without him showing up, and then a warrant of arrest was issued for him.” She said she wanted her father to tell the truth, adding that all she wanted was for the police to find him so justice could be done.
“If he was innocent, he wouldn’t be on the run right now.” Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed that a case of rape was investigated by the Pinetown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.
“It is alleged that during 2018, a 17-year-old woman was raped and impregnated by a relative. The suspect was arrested and he failed to appear in the Camperdown Regional Court on Friday, May 6. A warrant for his arrest has been issued,” Gwala said.
Daily News