The family of a 13-year-old primary school girl, who was raped allegedly by four secondary school boys last month at the Thuto Botshelo Primary school in Mahikeng in the North West, says the matter is taking a toll on their child.
They say the fact that the perpetrators have not been apprehended also makes matters worse.
The family is calling for the authorities to expedite the investigation and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
They say they are slowly losing hope of their child’s rapists ever being arrested.
To protect their child and help her heal, the family is considering changing her school, with the hope that a fresh start might help her move on.
The girl’s parent says, “If she returns to her old school, it will remind her of the incident. It might be better if she changes schools, even though she won’t forget what happened easily. It could still be an improvement. The child sees a psychologist. Things have changed since she started going to a psychologist but, she’s having a tough time at night, but during the day she’s fine. She can’t sleep. She’s says she’s scared.”
The family blames police for alleged heavy-handedness. They say a group of ten police officers arrived at their home to question their child about the incident. During the interview, one of the officers reportedly made a statement alleging that the child was lying, leading to a significant shift in her statement.
North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone says they are not aware of this.
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