Woman accuses police of failing to arrest her alleged abuser

A Limpopo woman, who was allegedly brutally assaulted while pregnant, believes police let her down by not arresting her alleged abuser.

The woman’s boyfriend allegedly kicked her in the stomach several times and forced her to undergo an abortion.

The 25-year-old woman, Elisa Motsai of Relela village in Bolobedu, outside Tzaneen, said she lived in fear because the man had threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.

Motsai said she spent five months in the abusive relationship that nearly cost her life because she believed her boyfriend would change.

“I have been beaten to a pulp, kicked in the stomach almost every day and forced to abort my baby by my boyfriend. But when I finally thought I will find solace from the men and women in blue, police in Lulekani begged me to have mercy on him because he might lose his job as a teacher.

“They suggested we speak about the matter as a family and withdraw the case. A few weeks later, when I inquired about the case, the investigating officer told me it had been struck off the roll for lack of evidence.”

Motsai said she met her former boyfriend through Facebook in June.

“We met for the first time at a restaurant in Giyani. After a few weeks of intensive telephonic communication, I decided to visit him at his rented house in Lulekani, outside Phalaborwa.

“He told me he had no wife or children and begged me to make him a baby. I agreed because I loved him. But three months later, he started disrespecting me and cheating. He then became aggressive and short-tempered.”

She said he had told her recently he no longer wanted a baby and ordered her to terminate the pregnancy.

“When I refused, he called me names and assaulted me. He kicked me in the stomach, even when I fell down. He would beat me up almost every day and threatened to kill me if I reported him to the police.

“I finally agreed to the abortion. He took me to traditional healers who gave us a concoction of medicines to drink, but the termination did not succeed. He then took me to doctors in Giyani, but still nothing happened. The doctors told me the baby was still alive but it was dangerous to keep it. He forced me to go to Mankweng Hospital in Turfloop, where the abortion finally happened.”

On Friday, Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the case had been reinstated after apparently being withdrawn on the complainant’s instruction.

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