In Pretoria, South Africa
So frantic was a Soshanguve mother after discovering that her 9-year-old son had raped her friend’s 3-year-old daughter that she bludgeoned the little rape victim to death with a rock to silence her.
The mother then dumped the body in the backyard of her home next to a banana tree.
The mother, her son and her daughter went to sleep that night with the body outside their bedroom window, while the family of Asanda Mbuku searched for the child throughout the night. Knowing her son had raped the child, the mother sent him to school the next day.
The gruesome discovery of the body was only made after the son returned from school and called his aunt into the house. He then pointed through the window to the backyard towards where the body was covered with corrugated iron sheets.
This horrific tale unfolded on Wednesday in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, when the 32-year-old mother pleaded guilty to murder and an attempt to obstruct justice. The mother cannot be identified in order to protect her son, now 11, who is in a place of safety with his younger sister.
The mother was sentenced to an effective 11-year jail sentence for the killing.
Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela said the fact that the woman pleaded guilty, coupled with her having no one to care for her children, warranted a more lenient sentence.
He said the right of children were of paramount importance; and as there was no family to care for the children, it was in their interests not to have to spend too long without their mother.
The woman told the court she was bitterly sorry for what she had done. She also apologised to her friend, the mother of the victim, who was not in court.
She explained that she was in a tavern on June 20, 2014, with a male friend and her 3-year-old.
Asanda went into the tavern with her father, who asked the woman to take care of the child for a while.
The accused eventually left for home with the young children, and after she fed them, she left them in the care of her son in front of the TV while she had a nap.
“Around 8pm I was woken up by my son who said Asanda was not waking up. I went to check and I found her lying on her back at the door. She was half-naked. I realised she was not moving and sprinkled her with water to wake her, but she did not.”
The mother said she realised the child had been raped by her son. She feared that if the child woke up and told people what had happened to her, her son would go to jail.
“I took a rock and I hit her on her head to kill her. I hid her at the back of my garden. I did all this because my son had raped her and I did not want anyone to find out. I burnt her jacket and shoes.
“When her parents came to the house to fetch her, I said I did not know where she was. I am so sorry for what I did. I beg you for mercy,” the woman told the judge.
Judge Maumela said it was a pity that the mother did not realise that her son would not have been arrested. He said that in terms of the law, a child under 10 could not be held criminally responsible for their deeds.
Asanda’s uncle Sello Dikwelane said outside court he was not very happy with the sentence.
“I would have liked to see her sitting in jail for longer. She killed a sweet, innocent child who had her life ahead of her. I am not sure whether I can forgive her, but only God can judge.”
Her aunt Gloria Mbuku said the child’s murder came as a terrible shock.
“The family went through a lot. The police at first suspected her parents and arrested them before her body was found.”
