File: A sign left as a protest against gender violence at the scene of a rape and murder. GettyImages/RapidEye
Editor's note: Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identity of a minor
JOHANNESBURG - A Gauteng mother is torn between fighting for her daughter and walking away from a justice system she believes has let her family down.
For the past three years, Maria Ngcobo* and her husband, Ben Ngcobo*, have been seeking justice after their nine-year-old daughter, Palesa*, who was raped, allegedly by her school principal.
The incident reportedly happened in 2022, months after the family relocated from Pretoria to Johannesburg.
Palesa was six years old at the time.
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Maria says the principal, who also managed the school transport, dropped Palesa off at home after 6pm – much later than usual.
She noticed something was amiss when the child entered the house with the zip of her trousers down.
"When I questioned her about it, she began crying. I stopped asking and began assisting her to undress. That's when I noticed her underwear was wet," Maria recalls.
She contacted a female teacher from the school, but when the woman could not help, Maria turned to her neighbour, who took them to a nearby clinic.
An examination confirmed that Palesa had been raped.
Maria says at first Palesa was reluctant to disclose who had violated her.
She later told the police, after they made it clear that she was safe with them.
"She said it was him who did that and he threatened to kill her and the entire family if she ever told anyone," Maria recalls.
The principal was arrested and later found to have been running an unregistered school and using a fraudulent ID.
The man was released on bail.
Maria and Ben say the case has been plagued by delays, changes in investigators, allegations of evidence tampering, and issues with DNA testing.
They also claim to have been followed by suspicious vehicles, leading them to relocate multiple times for safety reasons.
"I am frustrated. I was even telling my husband let’s just drop this case because one day we will lose our lives. It cannot be that a rape case has been dragging since 2022. We have done everything in our power, but we are sent from pillar to post. The justice system has failed us," Maria says.
She has noted a change in her daughter’s behaviour since the incident.
Maria says the child is not coping well in school, has become very distant and is no longer the bubbly Palesa they used to know.
Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane confirmed that a rape case had been opened and that the matter was before the Germiston Magistrate's Court.
She said the accused was charged with rape and contravention of the Immigration Act.
She directed the family to register any questions or complaints with the case prosecutor.
The matter resumes on 8 May.
BY Zandile Khumalo