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EXTREME MEASURES: This woman from Daveyton kept a foetus in her house since August, claiming she wanted to use it as evidence against her abusive ex-boyfriend. PHOTO: BAFANA MAHLANGU

 He beat me as if he were fighting with another man 

Palesa Tsotetsi*, 31, kept the foetus in a freezer since August, claiming she was waiting for the police to collect it as evidence in an assault case she opened against her former lover.

She also wanted DNA tests to be done on it to prove to her ex-boyfriend that the child was indeed his.

Tsotetsi, a mother of two, said she asked the hospital to give her the foetus to bury and perform rituals.

"I asked the doctor to give me my child because I wanted to bury him," Tsotetsi said.

Instead of burying the foetus she decided to keep it in her house.

"I kept my baby because my ex-boyfriend kept saying it was not his child and I wanted the court to test it and prove him wrong."

Tsotetsi said she and her former lover had a fight when she was 14 weeks pregnant.

She found out that the man was cheating on here and had a baby with another woman.

When she confronted him, he assaulted her and she ended up in hospital, where she lost the baby.

The self-employed Tsotetsi said: "He wanted to kill me. I only wanted to know who the woman was and that really made him angry.

"He beat me as if he were fighting with another man.

"He wanted to stab me with a knife but I managed to get hold of the knife and stab him instead.

"Thank God our neighbour came to my rescue."

Tsotetsi said she only realised it was illegal to keep a foetus in her home after speaking to her lawyer.

Police spokesman Constable Oupa Makwaza confirmed that a foetus was found in Tsotetsi's house on Friday after they were alerted by Sowetan.

"We found a foetus in her house and took it to the government mortuary," Makwaza said. "Though she was given the foetus by the hospital under the pretence that she was going to bury it, we were not aware of her intentions."

Tsotetsi was taken to the Daveyton police station for questioning, but was not charged.

*not her real name

- lerato@sowetan.co.za

This article was first published in the printed newspaper on 22 October 2012

Comments

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Sat May 25 21:48:48 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 23, 2012

asaowe

Only in SA
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Oct 23, 2012

Myskat

Good Lord! This lady is really traumatised beyond believe.
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Oct 23, 2012

Mellow

Shame so she kept it as evidence since she is afterall a victim and she ended up being arrestedas a suspect? On which bloody ground exactly? So does anyone at all give a damn about the pain she went through and is still going through? Did police ever really bothered to investigate at all?!
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Oct 23, 2012

Mellow

@Myskat Its sad really and she is really traumatised and scared if she still cares to prove that it was his child haai the things women go through sometimes


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Oct 23, 2012

Mrazane

@Mellow agree she is a victim and the police should not waste precious state resources, its good that they did not charge her, what they need to pursue is a case of assault against the ex-boyfriend. Nawe sisi please no more babies with boyfriends, linda umshado manje.
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Oct 23, 2012

MissBhakajuju

@ ntebo

LOL.....


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Oct 23, 2012

MommaC

How damaged can one woman be?
He cats around and tries to stab her then he assaults her so badly that she has a miscarriage but all she wants is to prove he is the father? Geez, what did he do to her to reduce her to that state?
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Oct 23, 2012

Voetzek

That serves the police right, a person beat the sh***t out of you and you go to report to the station but there is always mampara who will be saying nywe nywe nywe "suspect" nywe nywe "evidents" and nywe nywe "witness"
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Oct 23, 2012

mphephethwane

hectic.
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Oct 23, 2012

RobinHH

Mellow> I agree this is just so sad, and it has clearly had a profound effect on her mind.

ntebo: Let's lose that tribal nonsense, shall we.
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