In the past few days, a devastating story has gripped the attention of South Africans on and off social media.
It is the story of seven-year-old Cwecwe, who was allegedly sexually assaulted on school premises while waiting for her transport.
Cwecwe was a pupil at Bergview College in Matatiele in October 2024 when she was subjected to the horrific ordeal which her parents only discovered a few days later when the child could not walk.
According to her mother, a medical examination found extreme wounds on her.
When I read the mother’s public missive in which she details the events leading up to and following the discovery of the brutality that her little girl was subjected to, I felt numb.
It is her description of her reaction when the doctors confirmed what had happened to her daughter.
She details how she wailed in sorrow, unable to conceive how something so gruesome could have happened to her child on school property.
But what is even more painful about this story is how Bergview College allegedly handled the situation when she reported it to them.
Rather than provide her with much-needed assistance and support, including psychosocial support and trauma counselling, the principal is alleged to have callously dismissed the parents.
For one thing, after being informed about what had happened to the child, who at the time was in hospital, the principal demanded a doctor’s note.
When she later had a meeting with him, his response was that they had to be “professional” about the matter, painting her as irrational.
He has allegedly refused to co-operate with the police and brought in lawyers.
He has refused to have DNA tests done to identify the little girl’s attacker.
Even worse, the school expelled Cwecwe without her parents’ involvement after they asked for a transfer letter.
This callousness extended to the police, who were also dismissive to Cwecwe’s mother.
She had to go as far as calling the district commissioner from Alfred Nzo, who she alleges gave her the cold shoulder and responded with a curt “OK”.
Last Friday, the Eastern Cape education department announced its intention to deregister the school in the OR Tambo region due to its inaction with regard to the incident.
In addition to this, the parliamentary select committee on education, sciences and the creative industries has written to the Eastern Cape departments of education and social development, as well as the police, to get further details on the case.
Political parties and civil society alike have called for action against the school.
Marches have been held across the country.
A fundraising drive is under way to assist Cwecwe’s family in its quest for justice.
The entire country has, correctly, rallied behind the family, demanding justice for Cwecwe.
And while I applaud South Africans for this collective humanity, a question must be asked.
Why did it have to take a mother speaking out publicly for this horrific case to finally get the attention it deserves?
The alleged rape of this little child happened five months ago.
Why did it have to take the mother speaking out for officials to take this matter seriously?
She was left with no option but to speak out, and now the entire world knows what happened to Cwecwe, something which has no doubt set parameters for her to be re-traumatised.
That little girl has already been through so much.
She has endured trauma and suffering to which no child should ever be condemned.
One also wonders how many other cases like this are happening, where law enforcement callously disregards and psychologically tortures parents of rape victims whose only demand is for justice to be done for their children.
How many more Cwecwes are out there? How many more parents are enduring this horror?
The Herald
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