AfriForum challenges EC cops to provide evidence related to rape of girl (7)
This comes after the police ministry revealed that the principal and two others have been asked to submit DNA samples.
Lobby groups, AfriForum, Solidarity and Solidarity Support Centre for Schools held a media briefing on 16 January 2025 on their next action regarding the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA Act). Picture: Thabiso Goba/ Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURHG - AfriForum is challenging the police to provide evidence that proves the principal of a school in the Eastern Cape is a suspect in the rape of a seven-year-old learner.
This comes after the police ministry revealed that the principal and two others have been asked to submit DNA samples.
The lobby group's private prosecution unit has advised its client against providing a sample, arguing that requesting this from the principal without sufficient evidence.
In its first letter to the Eastern Cape police, AfriForum indicated that the principal would not provide a DNA sample until there was evidence linking him to a suspect.
This letter was sent months after the rape case was opened with the police last year.
With no arrests made, the provincial Department of Education deregistered the school last week, citing a lack of cooperation in the police investigation.
AfriForum’s second letter counters these claims, stating that the allegations from the Department of Education are untrue.
Spokesperson Barry Bateman, said: “AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit rejects with contempt any suggestion that the unit is protecting a suspected rapist from investigation.”