Child services took two young boys away from their foster mother on Wednesday 12 June after one arrived at school with a bruised and swollen eye.
Child services took two young boys away from their foster mother on Wednesday 12 June after one arrived at school with a bruised and swollen eye.
First blaming his injuries on an accident, the 8-year-old boy later told teachers he and his brother had been beaten for wetting the bed.
Classes came to a halt in many Seventh Day Adventist Combined School classes on Wednesday morning, as teachers were alerted to the battered child’s condition and called social workers.
When questioned, the boy at first told teachers the injuries to his face were from bumping into another pupil.
Teachers said that after more probing, however, the boy and his 7-year-old brother said they had been assaulted.
When Grocott’s Mail arrived at the school on Wednesday, social workers were present and the boy was in their care.
The boys’ foster mother was also present.
The boy’s class teacher recounted the events of the morning.
She said she was conducting the morning prayer, when she noticed the boy’s swollen eye.
"I was going to refer to him as an example in the prayer, when I noticed that his eye was swollen," the teacher said.
After the prayer she spoke to the child to find out what had happened, before taking him to the principal’s office.
There the boy said he had been assaulted by his foster mother.
Local doctors referred him to a Port Elizabeth hospital and according to teachers, doctors were considering operating on the boy’s eye.
Speaking to Grocott’s Mail yesterday, Grahamstown Child Welfare staff were unable to hold back their emotions.
Child Welfare Director Woineshet Bischoff was in tears as she explained how the incident had affected them.
"We are absolutely devastated by this," she said.
She couldn’t discuss the details of what had happened, however, saying they were in the process of conducting their own investigation.
Bischoff did confirm, however, that the mother had been asked to leave the foster home immediately.
By law they can remove a foster parent from the state home they live in after giving 24 hours notice, she said.
Kim Wright of Child Welfare said the foster home had been very well monitored and closely supervised.
"It’s a terrible shock and we are really not taking it lightly."
"This is viewed in a very serious light," she said.
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said police were investigating a case of common assault.
No arrests have been made.
However, the boy’s grandmother said she had visited the police station yesterday to show them pictures and explain the case in more detail.
After this, she says the charge was changed to assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
