A 32-YEAR-OLD father from Olievenhoutbosch, Tshwane who was found guilty of raping his 11-month-old daughter will know his fate on Wednesday, 6 March.
On Wednesday, 28 February, the Pretoria High Court found the man guilty of rape, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice.
This relates to an incident that happened in April 2023.
According to Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokeswoman Lumka Mahanjana, the man and his baby mama were home on the day of the incident when a neighbour asked the baby mama to help her cook as she was having an overnight ceremony.
She said when the mother came back home in the early hours of the morning, she bumped into her partner in the street and asked him where the baby was, to which he answered: "She's inside sleeping."
"They then walked back to the house together where the mother found the baby lying on her chest with her back raised. When the mother touched the child to change her diaper, she began to cry. As she was changing the diaper, she noticed that the baby's private parts were swollen and there was semen on the diaper," said Mahanjana.
She said the mum insisted that the child was raped and should be taken to the clinic, but the dad suggested they go to a traditional healer.
"He suggested that they take the baby to a traditional healer who is a neighbour. During the consultation, the dad confessed to raping the child. The traditional healer advised them to seek medical assistance as he couldn't help them further.
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"When they returned home from the traditional healer, the man threatened the mother with a knife and ordered her not to take the child to the clinic as this will attract attention from the community," she said.
Mahanjana said the next day, the mother pretended to visit her other child in Limpopo, but took the baby to a clinic in Venda, instead. However, she was told to return to Pretoria to report the case.
"When she arrived in Pretoria on 4 May, she reported the case to the police and the father was arrested later that day and has been in custody since," she said.
According to Mahanjana, the man pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but instead gave a plea explanation.
She said: "(The man) gave a plea explanation stating that on the day of the incident, he inserted his thumb in the baby’s private parts while bathing her to remove soil particles which were there as a result of her playing outside."
Upon hearing this, state prosecutor Advocate Vongani Khosa argued that the father indeed penetrated his baby sexually because semen was visible.
The court agreed with the state and rejected his version as it was not consistent with the presence of semen and that the state was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The case has been postponed to 6 March for sentening.
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