Orphan boy (16) allegedly abused by family

A 16-year-old orphan who was under the care of his grandmother and his aunts were allegedly burned by one of his aunts in an alleged fight that broke out between the two.

The child is said to have been allegedly experiencing a series of verbal, physical and sexual abuse and maltreatment from his family and no one in the family cared to report it.

The family resides in Ackerville, where residents became enraged and published the incident on a Facebook post as a cry of help for the young boy.

Community members also stated that this was not the first time the child had experienced extreme physical abuse, at first his grandfather allegedly beat him up until he bled from the ears.

This time, the community managed to get a case opened against the aunt at Vosman Police Station and Captain Elizabeth Mkaudi of Vosman South African Police Services has confirmed this.

“A case of assault was opened on Monday, November 09 and a 19-year-old woman was arrested. The boy has been taken to a place of safety.”

The suspect appeared before Witbank Magistrate’s Court on November 10.

The National Prosecution Agency gave some instructions to the police which at this stage cannot be disclosed as this matter is still under investigation and the police are adhering to them.

The boy sustained first-degree burn wounds on the back of his shoulders and around his neck.

WITBANK NEWS spoke to Ms Filistas Mandiyanike of eMalahleni Child Welfare about cases of child abuse in the community and how they can be solved.

“In a case where a child is physically or sexually abused, social development will assign a social worker to remove the child from the family pending the investigation of the case. If the child is being abused by their own family, we are permitted to open the case on the child’s behalf and give the child therapy”, said Mandiyanike.