Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
Fact sheet
DNA is expedited
Social welfare to have custody of both mum and child
Care plan being formulated
9-year-old to return to school
POLICE have widened their investigations in the case of the nine-year-old Tsholotsho girl who gave birth recently at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and are now looking for new suspects despite the fact that the prime suspect, her father is already in custody.
The Department of Social Welfare is also putting in place modalities for the upkeep of both the nine-year-old mother and her baby with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Simon Masanga hinting that they wanted the girl to continue with her education. He said they were seized with the matter and were formulating a care plan.
“They have been taken to a care institution. We will develop a care plan for both of them as they are children, we cover both of them and see what we will do moving forward. Definitely for the nine-year-old the plan involves taking the girl back to school whilst we look after the new-born child,” said Mr Masanga.
He said the child would be reunited with her family after a thorough investigation and circumstances around her care.
“Reuniting her with her family depends on the circumstances. We will come out with a care plan in the best interests of the child. If the environment is not conducive for her to go back, she will not. There are also issues of stigma. So really, we would rather take her to another place,” said Mr Masanga.
The Ministry, however, said they were discouraging institutionalising children who need care.
“We are discouraging keeping children at institutions as it has its own disadvantages. We prefer community structures like the kinship of the child who are prepared to look after her at a different place. We are not saying we will do that but those are the alternative care plans that we have available. Normally, we want children to grow up in a family environment rather than being confined to an institution,” he said.
He further said institutionalising the children was a temporary measure as they look for a lasting solution to the matter. Mr Masanga said when a child turns 18, while living in an institution they needed to be discharged and a community approach was ideal.
Mr Masanga also said the pregnant eight-year-old from Bindura has also been taken in to care by the State.
The Ministry said they continue to offer specialist child protection services for the affected children and family therapy for them and for their families to be able to cope. The ministry, he said, was collaborating with other line ministries such as such as health, education and justice in that regard.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told Sunday News that although the father had appeared in court, police needed to find any other people that might be involved in the matter.
“One of the suspects who is the father was arrested and is assisting with investigations. We are now awaiting the DNA process to be conducted. We are also in the process of conducting further investigations with the view of finding out if there are any other suspects that are associated with this case,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi said the safety of the girl child was now at stake following reports of another pregnant eight-year-old in Bindura.
“We are concerned as police with the safety of the girl child especially minors. While we are still grappling with the Tsholotsho case, we have another case in Bindura where an eight-year-old girl was raped by two boys aged 17 and she is six months and three weeks pregnant. This shows that parents and guardians need to step up the safety and security of the girl child and ensure it is prioritised at all times,” added Asst Comm Nyathi.
He said it had come to the attention of the police that young children were now a target of rogue elements in society.
“We have realised that while children play and conduct other activities, they are now targets of predators out there either young or old,” he said.
He stressed it had not been concluded that the father of the nine-year-old from Tsholotsho was responsible for the crime but was only taken in as a suspect.
“The father was taken to court and remanded in custody as a prime suspect. We are not saying he is the one who committed the crime, we are saying we are waiting for the DNA process to unravel who might be responsible for the minor’s pregnancy,” he said.
Dr Ellen Hondonga who delivered the baby said the baby and mother were all fine.
“The mother has been discharged and the baby still under a paediatrician but with no issues,” she said.
The baby was delivered last week Monday via caesarean section at UBH and weighed 3 090g. The nine-year-old was initially managed at Mpilo Central Hospital and was transferred to UBH when the pregnancy was at 32 weeks. -@NyembeziMu
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter