A woman who fatally assaulted her seven-year-old daughter after accusing the child of deliberately soiling herself has been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, with the option of paying a fine of E8 000, by the High Court.
Handing down sentence today, Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini said while the court had considered the accused’s status as a first-time offender and the fact that the incident arose during the administration of corporal punishment, the seriousness of the offence and the interests of society demanded a substantial sentence.
The woman had initially been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to culpable homicide. The court accepted her plea after both the Crown and the defence presented a statement of agreed facts detailing the events that led to the child’s death.
According to the agreed facts, the tragedy unfolded on February 4, 2023, at Makhwelela in the Shiselweni District. The accused woke up to discover that her daughter had defecated on herself while sleeping. The court heard that the mother had previously warned the child against the behaviour.
When questioned, the child reportedly responded that she wanted to go and stay with her grandmother. The response enraged the accused, who believed the child had deliberately soiled herself.
She then beat the child repeatedly with a broomstick, striking her all over the body, including the head. The assault was so severe that blood began flowing from the child’s forehead and the middle of her head before she collapsed and lost consciousness.
Instead of immediately seeking medical attention, the accused poured cold water over the child in an attempt to clean off the blood and revive her.
Realising the seriousness of the injuries, she telephoned the child’s father, who came to the house and administered first aid. The child regained consciousness and appeared to improve. However, the following morning the family discovered that she had died.
During mitigation, the defence pleaded for leniency, arguing that the accused was a first offender, unemployed and survived by growing and selling vegetables from her backyard. Counsel urged the court to impose a fine of E3 000 instead of a custodial sentence, arguing that first offenders should ordinarily be afforded an opportunity to avoid imprisonment.
The defence further submitted that the accused was genuinely remorseful and would live with the emotional burden of causing the death of her own biological child for the rest of her life. It also argued that the offence fell on the lower end of culpable homicide cases because the fatal assault occurred while she was disciplining her daughter.
However, the Crown opposed a lenient sentence, highlighting several aggravating factors. Prosecutors argued that the victim was a helpless and defenceless seven-year-old child who depended entirely on the accused for care and protection.
The Crown further submitted that there was a significant imbalance of power between the mother and child, and that instead of making the home a place of safety, the accused turned it into a place of fear. It also criticised the accused for calling the child’s father instead of seeking urgent professional medical assistance and for allowing the injured child to sleep despite the serious head injuries she had sustained.
In his judgment, Judge Dlamini referred to previous decisions dealing with fatal assaults on children, including a case in which the court observed that society is appalled when children are brutally beaten or tortured because they are helpless and unable to defend themselves.
The judge said the court had considered the established sentencing triad of the seriousness of the offence, the interests of society and the personal circumstances of the offender.
While acknowledging that the accused was administering corporal punishment and had no previous convictions, Judge Dlamini stressed that punishment must fit both the crime and the offender while remaining fair to society.
He ultimately sentenced the accused to eight years’ imprisonment, with the option of paying a fine of E8,000. The sentence was backdated to take into account the period she had already spent in custody awaiting the finalisation of the case.
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