Johannesburg - The Star’s investigations unit has uncovered a web of paedophilia at a day care centre in Tshepisong, a township between Soweto and Kagiso, in Krugersdorp. The Investigation has again highlighted the question of how safe children are in day care centres.
The family of a 4-year-old Soweto girl have confirmed to The Star that their child was raped by a man who lives at the centre. The man the children refer to as Malume, meaning uncle, is at the centre of the allegations.
A grandmother and her neighbour have been in and out of police stations opening cases against each other. The old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, claims her granddaughter was raped by the 30-year-old man at the day care centre.
The nightmare started on August 29 when the grandchild (who is known to The Star) went to play with her friends at the house opposite hers, where the centre is run, and was later raped.
The granny says when the child returned from the neighbour’s home she began to act strangely and locked herself in the bathroom. She said the child was crying because her genitals were painful.
“I told my daughter to take her to the clinic because she was complaining of pain. When we got to the Leratong Hospital they said it was an emergency and the child had to be admitted. They said the child had been raped,” she said.
The granny said what frustrated the family even more was that they had not seen the perpetrator in court. Instead, the family was asked if they wanted the perpetrator arrested or not.
“We are not even sure where he is, the police are just playing games with us. They told us that because he was co-operating there was no need for him to be behind bars,” she said.
The Star has subsequently learnt that it was not the first time that such an incident was linked to the crèche. In a bizarre revelation, The Star has learnt that the owner of the daycare centre was also accused of doing virginity testing on children without the knowledge of the parents.
According to Sibongile, a parent who took her child to the daycare centre, strange things happened at the centre. Sibongile says two children had complained that they were touched on their private parts.
The Star understands that police are also investigating the rape of a 10-year-old in an unrelated case in the same area.
Police have had to intervene several times to ensure that the granny’s family and the owners of the day care centre stay away from each other, despite living right opposite one another.
“It is hard to see these people every day and the day care centre is still open. The question that I ask myself is that this guy has been having access to children. What if he has been doing this for a long time and we do not know. The annoying thing is that the owner of the crèche says the incident did not happen during crèche time so parents can still bring their children,” the granny said.
On first contact the police were very coy with details of the case, with one police officer asking The Star's reporter, Itumeleng Mafisa, to send him the story before it was published. When The Star's reporter told him that wouldn’t happen the officer quickly changed tune.
Police spokesperson Solomon Sibiya told The Star that police were investigating the matter. He said the issue was sensitive because it involved children and the children who were there when the alleged rape happened would be asked to make statements.
He said he understands the frustrations of the family but asked that the community should give police time to investigate.
“The child will be taken for tests and other things at the Teddy Bear clinic, so it’s an ongoing investigation," Sibiya said.
Some political parties have been protesting outside the daycare centre asking that it should be closed until the investigation is finished. The Star has sought the intervention of the Department of Social Development and Ipid (Independent Police Investigative Directorate).
The Star was able to contact the owner of the day care at a number that registered as belonging to Ms Khanyi Mazeka.
Mazeka told The Star “No comment, I can’t speak to someone I don’t see” and hung up.
The Star