BLOEMFONTEIN. The Premier of the Free State MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae is outraged by the flagrant abuse of children in the province.
In two separate incidents, Free State police managed to rescue children, the youngest being only two years old, after their mothers left them on their own and went missing for a number of days.
In the first case, siblings who are aged 3, 4, 12 and 15 were discovered alone, hungry and neglected in their home. Their mother had left the children on their own, and her whereabouts were unknown. Attempts to find her were unsuccessful. A relative came to the children’s aid.
In another case of neglect, a woman left her three children on their own for days without informing anyone where she was going. The neglect of the children was noticed by a teacher of the eldest child, who observed that the child was in poor condition. The concerned teacher questioned the child, who revealed that her mother had left her and her two siblings, aged 2 and 5, alone at their home. The police located and arrested the mothers.
They appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court and were found guilty of neglecting their children. They were each given a five-year sentence, which was wholly suspended for three years.
In another case, a 14-year-old schoolgirl was sexually abused by a relative. The court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to five years imprisonment, which was also wholly suspended for five years. He has also been declared unfit to work with children and his name has been placed on the sexual offenders register.
Letsoha-Mathae said she was angered by the abuse of the children and added that she was particularly incensed that in two of the cases, mothers were guilty of neglecting their children.
The premier appealed to the courts to impose harsher sentences to deter others from committing the same crimes.
“If we are going to win the battle against women and children abuse, we need everyone to play a role. A suspended sentence for neglecting a 2-year-old baby, who was later found extremely hungry, does little to discourage other irresponsible women from doing the same thing. We therefore appeal to the courts of law, without necessarily dictating how they should conduct their affairs, to impose harsh sentences on offenders who abandon their children,” said Letsoha-Mathae.
