Daily Sun (March 28 2014) - TWO years ago, when she was only six years old, she was brutally raped and now has to wear a colostomy bag. But instead of getting support from the community as she works at rebuilding her future, she meets rejection.
THE CHILD FACES TEASING AND ABUSE AT SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE SMELLY BAG.
The child's 30-year-old mother told Daily Sun she has been in conflict with the school since February last year when the girl was in grade R.
"The principal told me my little girl must stop coming to school because the bag was stinking and disturbing other kids in the classroom. He said the kids couldn't concentrate and they wanted to look at the bag," she said.
"My daughter was embarrassed and humiliated. She didn't want to go to school because the kids were teasing her. I believe my child has a right to education but this is too much for her. Other kids and teachers are unable to accept her condition."
The girl's horror story started when she was kidnapped, raped and sodomised, allegedly by a man from the Motherwell community in Port Elizabeth where she lives. She was injured so badly she carries a bag attached by pipes to her private parts so she can relieve herself.
The man accused of the brutal act that occurred on 16 December 2011, Xolile Tose (33) is currently on trial in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
The court has heard the kid was playing in the street with friends in the early afternoon when a man approached her. He allegedly asked her to fetch something for him in his neighbour's house, who was away at a party.
The child protested. She said her mother had taught her not to talk to strangers. The two girls she was playing with said they would go instead but the man insisted.
He put her on his shoulders and took her to a neighbour's house where he allegedly raped her repeatedly, keeping her captive for 15 hours before sending her home the next day.
Tose's bail application has been denied and he has pleaded not guilty.
The mother said she decided she will not force her child to go to school.
"I decided to wait until April this year when she goes for surgery, when she may not have to wear the bag any longer," she said.
Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani told the People's Paper: "The kid was never expelled by the school. The school called a meeting with the parent and the social worker. Thereafter the parent just decided to take her child away from school."
Her mum said she did not meet with the department because she felt her daughter was a burden at the school.
"The children were laughing at my child. She told me other kids were teasing her about her bag and she told me she doesn't want to go to the school because they tell her she smells."
She said after the operation next month she will send the girl back to the same school.
See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....
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