The teenage mother from Mphego village who was arrested for murdering her two-year-old son and dumping his body into a pit toilet was released into her mother's care after she appeared in the Thohoyandou Children's Court on Tuesday, 18 April.
The 17-year-old girl was arrested on Saturday, 15 April, after she had confessed to killing her child on 18 March. The case was postponed until 19 May.
Acting spokesperson for the Vhembe police Sgt Vuledzani Dathi said the girl was undergoing rehabilitation programmes. "She was released into her mother's care because she is eight months pregnant again. The reason why she is undergoing rehabilitation is because we believe she is not in the right state of mind. No normal person can do what she did," said Dathi.
Dathi said the girl's mother had been asked to open a case of statutory rape. "[The girl] was impregnated at the age of 14 by a man who is now in his early 30s. According to the South African law, that is considered statutory rape. We have asked her mother to come and open a case of statutory rape. She said she would come after the funeral, but she never came."
Dathi added that the girl's mother could also face charges of defeating the ends of justice. According to Section 15 of the South African Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters), Amendment Act of 2007, a person who commits an act of sexual violation with a child who is 12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years, despite the consent of the child to have the sexual act, is guilty of statutory rape.
Ms Pfarelo Mathivha, a clinical social worker and founder of the Isa Mathivha Foundation, who deals with teenage pregnancy, said parents were reluctant to cooperate regarding the law. "The parents must respect the law. If you look at this case, the parents should have acted earlier. A 14-year-old does not know the law. The parents are the ones who have the legal rights. It might be that the teenage mother was faced with a lot of problems and ended up doing what she did because she has mental challenges."
Mathivha encouraged parents and community members to speak out about incidents of statutory rape and child abuse.