- A young Durban girl who was raped by her father gave a powerful victims' statement, pleading with the courts and God to punish her dad.
- The girl's 32-year-old father was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Monday.
- He managed to evade police for two months before he was eventually arrested in January 2020.
A Durban girl who was raped by her father when she was just 10 years old, in a powerful victims' support statement, has pleaded with the Verulam Magistrate's Court to punish her dad.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday that the child, now 12, said she had found it difficult to socialise with other children after the incident.
"The girl stated that she was embarrassed and could no longer play with other children in the area as they knew what happened to her. She said that she wanted the court and God to punish her father," said NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara.
Kara added that the girl and her 8-year-old brother had visited their father on 8 November 2019 at their granny's home in the Cottonlands area, north of Durban, when the incident took place.
"When they got there, they found him alone in his room, as their granny had gone out. After speaking to them for a while, the man gave the boy his cellphone and sent him to another room, while he closed the door and raped the girl."
Kara said:
Kara said the matter was reported to police shortly after the rape and that the girl was then taken to the Thuthuzela Care Centre at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Phoenix, where she received medico-legal and psycho-social assistance.
The father evaded the police for two months, but was eventually arrested.
"His defence in court was bare denial, and Regional Court prosecutor Nondumiso Cele led the testimonies of the girl's brother, her mother who was the first report, and medical evidence from the doctor," said Kara.
The Verulam Magistrate's Court sentenced the 32-year-old father to life imprisonment on Monday.
The NPA welcomed the sentence and "finalisation" of the matter.
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