The “Best Dad Ever” T-shirt Robin Clarke wore to court was a grotesque sign of obscenity.
Simply put, it was a disgusting act.
A defenceless 19-month-old girl died because the adults entrusted with her life chose cruelty.
Clarke was found guilty of murder, as Krisley Dirker never stood a chance against the violence inflicted on her by her stepfather.
It took 12 years for the justice system to record her death as murder.
Thankfully, the evidence was overwhelming.
Medical staff described injuries no child could ever cause to themselves — injuries so severe that professionals said her swollen forehead was the worst haematoma they had ever seen.
Neighbours spoke of screams, of a tiny voice silenced by a grown man’s rage.
Krisley eventually died on October 17 2013, that year due to blunt force trauma to the head.
Judge Vuyokazi Noncembu, in a meticulous judgment, made clear that Clarke’s violence was not a momentary lapse of judgment but a pattern of abuse.
Kristen Clarke, Krisley’s mother, was acquitted of murder but convicted of child abuse and neglect.
She chose not to protect her daughter.
She shielded a violent man. She defended the indefensible.
When Clarke was finally led down to the holding cells, he gave the middle finger to a family friend seated in the public gallery.
The man then shouted, “Justice for Krisley” as Robin was led away.
Justice has taken too long, but at least now it has begun.
Clarke will wait for sentencing behind bars, where he belongs. Kristen will face her own reckoning in February.
The words stretched across his chest are usually slogans seen on Father’s Day mugs and toddler-drawn cards.
He turned it into a disgusting prop in a murder trial.
The T-shirt will not be remembered as Clarke intended. It will be remembered as an affront to a girl’s life he ended.
The Herald
