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A mother has been arrested in the Eastern Cape for allegedly assaulting her two-yea-old son and using paraffin to burn him to death.
(The Post News)- A 41-year-old mother has been arrested in the Eastern Cape for allegedly assaulting her two-year-old son and then burning him to death on Monday, July 7.
It is alleged that the mother used paraffin to set her son on fire and then kicked his lifeless body in the presence of her seven-year-old daughter.
According to an article by Sithandiwe Velaphi, a News24 journalist, the woman has four children, and the two-year-old boy was her last born.
The article also stated that Nokhonza Dingela, a relative, said that the death of the two-year-old stunned not just the family but the whole community.
According to Angela, the woman’s 19-year-old eldest son called them to notify them of the incident.
She said that they quickly hurried to their house, and when they arrived, they could smell paraffin from all over the house.
They found the woman kicking her son’s lifeless body, and she looked intoxicated.
Dingela said that the woman was a loving mother who did not appear to have abused her kids, and even though they do not recall any incidents of her abusing her children, she did occasionally consume alcohol.
She further said that if this had happened, they would have taken steps to keep her children away from her.
Petros Majola, the director of Khula Community Development and an activist for children’s rights, has requested that authorities act.
Majola encouraged the government and civil society organisations to support their efforts so they could establish programmes that would empower women.
He said that in these programmes they will also tackle reckless driving because this incident happened while the woman was allegedly drunk.
Additionally, he urged social workers to become involved and expressed that when the mother is released from prison, they want to ensure that she knows how to be a responsible mother.
This will ensure that her other three children are safe and protected.
The police confirmed that the mother was arrested on Monday evening.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, when the police arrived on the scene, they discovered the body of a two-year-old child who had been assaulted and burned to death.
Marisa said that the mother is accused of abusing her son in the presence of her seven-year-old daughter, who reported the incident to the community.
The seven-year-old is currently in the custody of a family member.
Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene sent the family her sympathies. Mene said that one of the serious issues the police condemn is gender-based violence against women and children.
Moreover, she said that it is inexcusable whatever the circumstances were that supposedly drove the mother to allegedly murder her child, and she has advised the investigator to prioritise this case.
What caused the mother to carry out an act of this magnitude against her child is still unknown, and the family is set to lay the two-year-old boy to rest on July 16.
The case was scheduled for July 17, after the mother made a brief appearance at the Ngqushwa Magistrates’ Court, and she was kept under detention on remand.
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