DNA excludes white families
2003-06-17 17:57
Pretoria - DNA tests had ruled out two white families who believed teenager Happy Sindane might be their long-lost son, a Justice Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Happy made headlines last month when he went to police saying he believed he was born to white parents and was kidnapped as a little boy.
Jan-Hendrik and Sarie Botha of Danville, Pretoria, said they believed he was their son Jannie, who disappeared in 1992.
DNA tests were done to determine if this was the case. Similar tests were done on another white couple from Johannesburg, who preferred to remain anonymous.
"We know the test results excluded these two families," Heinrich Augustyn of the justice department told Sapa.
Tests still had to be done on other people who claim to be related to Happy, he said.
It was for this purpose that a children's court case in Bronkhorstspruit, aimed at establishing Happy's true identity, was postponed on Wednesday to July 15, Augustyn said.
- SAPA