Members of the Mitchell’s Plain Crisis Forum have voiced their concern about a five-year-old Tafelsig girl who was kidnapped and then returned to her mother on the same day.
Their ire comes after a spate of kidnappings, rapes and murders of young girls on the Cape Flats in recent months. These include Stacha Arends of Tafelsig and Rene-Tracy Roman of Lavender Hill.
Constable Nozukuo Makwayiba, spokesman for Mitchell’s Plain police, confirmed that the Mitchell’s Plain Family, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit (FCS) was investigating a case of sexual assault.
He could not reveal the name of the mother and child but said on Thursday April 27, at about 5.45pm the mother had left her child with her mother but when she returned, she noticed that the child wasn’t there.
“She was then informed that her child was walking with her ex-boyfriend,” he said.
According to Joanie Fredericks, the child was returned several hours later by the ex-boyfriend’s sister. “The child’s mother noticed that something was wrong with her when she got back. The child was immediately taken to Heideveld Community Healthcare Centre because no district surgeon was on hand in Mitchell’s Plain to examine the child. She went back the next day and an examination was completed and following that the mother reported the incident to the police,” she said.
Constable Makwayiba said a man, aged 50, was arrested in connection with the alleged assault and made his first appearance in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday May 2. “The investigation continues,” he said.
Several attempts by the Plainsman to interview the mother of the child were unsuccessful.
