By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says a medical examination found no foreign DNA on the 7-year-old girl who was allegedly raped in Matatiele, Eastern Cape.
Mchunu and his management team provided an update on the long-running probe in Pretoria on Friday.
This follows the deployment of a dedicated team by the National Commissioner Fannie Masemola, to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
Mchunu said the initial report indicated that the incident occurred in October 2024, with a case formally opened on 16 October following a medical examination and a consultation with a social worker.
Based on what was contained in the docket at that time, the senior state prosecutor declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence as the reason; this was on November 2024,” the minister said.
He said it was noted from the report that the matter was complex, having been investigated by three separate officers, firstly the officer in Matatiele, before being transferred to a brigadier at the provincial office before being assigned to the current investigating officer.
Mchunu said after the handling of the matter by the various offices, one critical aspect that continued to present a serious challenge was the matter around DNA.
“DNA testing was done on the victim as per procedure and the outcome was that no foreign DNA had been found. Three persons of interest have since emerged and further DNA testing is underway,” he said.
Mchunu said they also realised that they needed to reinforce the investigation team and dedicated officer is now on the case.
As he reassured everyone that the police are making every effort to solve the case, Mchunu called for calm.
“However, I must stress that due to the sensitive nature of this case and the investigations that are ongoing, we cannot disclose all the details because that will interfere with the investigations.
At the same time, Masemola has clarified that the three people whose DNA was taken were not suspects.
“We spoke about three people of interest. This does not necessarily mean that those people are suspects. The first investigating officers did their investigations, and it was identified that there were three people that they could bring closer [ to the investigation].
“The DNA of these three has been taken and will be analysed. But they are not suspects.”
Earlier this week, Mchunu confirmed that the school principal had also submitted his DNA following days of public criticism over his initial refusal.
No arrests have been made since the incident occurred in October last year.
The minister described the case as complex, but he assured South Africans that police were working hard to get to the bottom of it.