A South African mother has disclosed that the delay in DNA results stood in the way of her receiving justice.
Her toddler was allegedly raped by her 27 year-old uncle during load shedding when the mother was in another room last year.
The Soshanguve mother has been waiting since then for the police to conclude investigations, which included confirming with DNA results that without reasonable doubt, the arrested uncle was the one who raped the 2-year-old.
During a bail application, that was denied by the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court in December, the uncle attempted to convince the court that the child could have been sexually assaulted by her younger brother.
The claim was ridiculed by the mother, who broke down in court when she told the story of how she caught the uncle red-handed when she heard her daughter screaming and rushed into the room.
This resulted in the uncle dropping the child on the floor and turning his back on her, according to her testimony during cross-examination.
The case was postponed to May 5 at last appearance.
“We were just told not to come because the case will not even enter. They just postponed it again, due to outstanding DNA results. This worries us and the mother now. How long could it possibly take to get DNA results?” said ward 36 EFF branch secretary in Soshanguve Block WW l, Dorothy Singo.
“Knowing South Africa, we are worried because we know bribes work in this country. We heard in court the mother telling stories about how the brother used to getting away with things because those who loved him did whatever they could to assist him.
“We are not trusting anybody. His own aunt, who was willing to say he would live with her after receiving bail, is a police officer. But we will fight this one until the end and make sure justice is served,” said Singo.
She said the mother was trying to cope but this affected her mentally.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, South Africa had a DNA backlog of more than 100 000 cases. In November last year, it was reported to have dropped to just over 5 000 cases.
