Girl, 3, 'dies after lifelong torture': young brother to testify against mother, ex-stepfather

Nine-year-old *Brandon is to be called as a witness for the prosecution in the trial of his mother and ex-stepfather after the death of his 3-year-old sister *Angel, who is alleged to have suffered horrific abuse since she was an infant.

In the case due to start on Thursday in the South Gauteng High Court, the 29-year-old Johannesburg mother and her 40-year-old ex-husband have been charged with offences spanning from 2018 to 2021. These include murder, rape, child abuse and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Their names are withheld to protect the identity of the children.

According to the state, the brother and sister had previously been removed from their mother by social workers over concerns of abuse and neglect but were returned to the couple's custody.

Angel died on May 11 2021. According to the indictment, the cause of death was determined to be pressure to her neck consistent with throttling and there were surface injuries of different ages on her body.

She had been admitted to Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston two months before for treatment of a broken leg and arm.

The two children were brought to the attention of social workers in June 2018 when Brandon was admitted to the Clinton Clinic in Alberton after he was burnt with boiling water from a kettle, allegedly by his mother.

In December 2018 he was placed in a temporary place of safety. Angel was also removed from her mother's custody because of concerns of neglect. However, the children’s court ordered the two minors be reunified with their mother in November 2020.

The state alleges that after Angel was placed back in the care of her mother and stepfather, they threw the child against a cupboard or wall, beat her with an assortment of objects, fed her until she vomited, forced her to eat the vomit and forced her mouth and nose shut after shoving food in her mouth. The mother allegedly pressed on her stomach to force the child's body to pass a stool and rubbed the faeces on her body. The mother's partner allegedly raped the girl by penetrating her and also inserting his fingers and unknown objects.

Brandon was allegedly also assaulted on numerous occasions. The state alleges they poured boiling water over him, assaulted him with an electrical cord and beat him with their hands.

The prosecution will argue that when these crimes were committed the mother and her partner acted in the furtherance of a common purpose. 

Luke Lamprecht, head of advocacy for Women and Men Against Child Abuse, said the case highlighted the need to protect vulnerable children from unspeakable atrocities. 

“Concerns have been raised about the actions of the social worker/s involved, who [allowed Angel to be] returned to [a home of alleged abuse] without adequate supervision.

“It serves as a reminder of the importance of identifying and reporting situations where children are at risk. Those with the statutory mandate — the police and social work services — need to responsibly discharge their mandated duty of care to protect children.

“There needs to be legislative intervention in high-risk cases to ensure the protection of children with court oversight. When these mandatory reporting agencies fail, the state needs to hold those responsible for this dereliction of duty of care accountable for their actions,” Lamprecht said.

The 9-year-old boy is being cared for at a child care centre.

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