Teenage mother, boyfriend in court for toddler’s death
A 17-year-old woman and her 32-year-old boyfriend will return to the Protea Magistrate Court on Wednesday for the death of the teenager’s daughter.
Baby Nyiko Mthimunye was raped and allegedly assaulted on 15 November in Diepkloof, Soweto.
Her mother had left the two-year old in the care of her boyfriend for about two hours at the time of the incident.
On her return after 8pm, she told the police that found the child sleeping. They boyfriend was not around; only his father was at the house. She said she also went to sleep, not wanting to disturb the child.
The teenager says she woke up in the middle of the night to check on baby Nyiko, only to notice that she had serious injuries to her face. She took the child to the nearby Baragwanath Hospital for treatment and it was found that she had been raped. The doctor called the police.
Baby Nyiko succumbed to her injuries three days later and was laid to rest on Tuesday.
The mother and the boyfriend are charged with her murder. They first appeared in court last Wednesday and the case was shelved for today.
Police suspect that baby Nyiko may have suffered previous abuse at the hands of her stepfather and the matter was never reported. “This is the basis of the arrest of the teenage mother who in this instance, only reported the incident to the police two days later,” Police Gauteng Spokesperson, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters says.
Welcoming the duo’s arrest, Acting Provincial SAPS Commissioner, Major General Patricia Rampota, urged the investigating team to do a thorough job in order to ensure that justice is served for the two-year old Nyiko.
“The SAPS remains committed to upholding the rights of victims of gender based and domestic violence and femicide, and to prioritise the investigation of all cases where women, children and other vulnerable persons are victims,” she has said.
