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Police, soccer hero help 8-year-old rape victim forget
The mother-heart of a police officer brought a smile to the tear-stained face of an 8-year-old boy who was raped earlier this year.
Ikageng SAPS spokesperson, Const. Kelebogile Trom gave the Herald the chilling account of the soccer fan that had been hunting for soccer magazines on the dumping site in Sarafina, Potchefstroom.
He and his friend of the same age had walked about 1-kilometre through the bushes when a knife-wielding man charged towards them. The friend fled but the suspect grabbed the boy and raped him.
“The child screamed for help throughout his ordeal but no one came to assist him. After raping him, the suspect just walked away,” she said.
She was so moved by the story that she contacted Ms Dara Carrol from the marketing department of Kaizer Chiefs, the victim’s favourite soccer team. She wanted to know whether his soccer idol, George Lebese, would consider coming to Ikageng to visit the boy.
“Not only did he agree; thereafter, the team invited the boy to Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena. I asked Skhoko, a Potchefstroom taxi owner and Kaizer Chiefs supporter, to transport him there,” she says, excitedly.
Photo: Selogile Leshage
The shy boy also received a ‘goodie bag’ containing a signed T-shirt of his idol, a Kaizer Chiefs staff kit and other soccer garments. He watched delightedly as South Africa’s most popular team trained under the stewardship of Coach Steve Komphela.
The boy later spoke to the Herald and said he is over the moon to have met George Lebese. He wants to pursue a career in football one day and, hopefully, also don the Kaizer Chiefs jersey.
“I want to emulate my hero’s style of play and goal-scoring abilities at Kaizer Chiefs,” he said.
His 30-year-old mother is happy that her son’s dream came true, even though it was under these terrible circumstances.
“I want to thank Kelebogile Trom for helping my son meet his idol.
“I still appeal to the police to search the bushes where my son was raped, however. Apparently, there is a house made of plastic where I suspect the man who committed this crime is still hiding. He still terrorises members of the community who go near the bushes,” she urged.
The Chiefs regional branch secretary and branch strategic advisor, Rendy Ramabau, says the local supporters branch is still negotiating with the team and a trust fund and a scholarship for the boy are in the pipeline.
Photo: Selogile Leshage
Photo: Selogile Leshage
Read the sad story of the 8-year-old boy in the following link:
https://potchefstroomherald.co.za/10871/8-year-old-boy-raped-in-bushes/
