Cwecwe now 8, was raped at Bergview College, Matatiele in October last year, until today there has never been an arrest. Her mother details the painful details of seeing a seven-year-old girl suffering from a stomach ache, complaining about her bums being sore, and the next morning she cannot even walk! Picture this for a moment and be Cwecwe’s parent for a moment. She details how they tried to find out what was the problem. They investigated the area where she was feeling the pain and found that it was red and unnaturally wide.
Still, rape was not something that crossed their minds, until the next day when they sent her to the doctor, who examined her and confirmed that Cwecwe was penetrated deeply from behind and slightly in the front. Cwecwe eventually told her dad what happened. She says that her transport was late on that Monday, and the school caretaker asked her to go sweep the class while sweeping she felt extremely tired and fell asleep, the caretaker woke her up when her transport arrived.
Cwecwe’s mom tried to seek answers and find justice for her child to no avail. The police did nothing and the school expelled the little girl. Thanks to South African social media which has picked up the story and gotten behind the parents in seeking justice for the child. Male employees at the school were asked to take the DNA tests which they did and the tests came back negative. But there is one particular Jaco Pieterse, a principal of the school who refuses to submit his DNA tests. He is backed and protected by the Afriforum in this.
According to Dabs Bantwana @Fann-Fest on X, she remembers Jaco as a primary school at her school in Matatiele who once took grades 4 and 5 on a week class tour to Durban, however, the tour was cut short after just two days because the children called their parents crying because Jaco allegedly touched them inappropriately, according to Dabs this became a bit of a scandal at the time.
Mr Jaco’s refusal to submit his DNA for testing leaves a lot to be desired and should be treated as suspicious enough to make him suspect number one. Not only because he refuses the test, but because he is the principal of the school and the safety of Cwecwe lies directly with him.
The Eastern Cape Education MEC has taken steps to deregister the private school. According to the statement by the school, they will approach the high court to stop the MEC, the school is also in full support of Mr Jaco.
No amount of justice can restore what this little girl went through, and she did not penetrate herself. South Africa needs the maximum sentence (cutting off a perpetrator’s penis), this will be the only way to create a safe environment for little girls such as Cwecwe. This cannot go on anymore, it cannot be that the majority of little girls will go through rape as a passage to becoming women. This time around Cwecwe’s life was spared, but this does not make it any better. A maximum sentence on rape is desperately needed!