Gran upset to see grandson kicked, trampled on video

The grandmother of an 18-month-old baby who was seen in a viral video being abused by his mother, said she was hurt to see her grandson being kicked and trampled on. 

The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, said she received the video from the father of the child and was shocked when she saw her own daughter inflicting pain on the boy. 

The woman, who broke down during a telephone conversation with Sowetan, said she struggled to watch the entire video. “I am not OK. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I am crying every day. 

“This is out of my daughter’s character. I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I want justice for my grandson,” the emotional granny said as she sobbed over the phone. “I really don’t know what happened. But we are working through it as a family.” 

The gran was speaking to Sowetan as the Gauteng government began the process of securing permanent custody of the child.  The granny said she encouraged the father to open a case against her daughter. She said she temporarily took the baby in after seeing the video, but has since had to hand him over to social workers. 

“I am hurt that he had to be taken away but I will abide by what the law says and I will respect whatever processes follow. All I want is justice for my grandson.” 

The child was taken to a place of safety by the state earlier this week after the video started making the rounds on social media. The incident happened on Friday last week.

Gauteng MEC for social development Mbali Hlope said social workers working on the case would be submitting reports on their findings as part of hearing over the custody of the child. 

She said the department was looking into two family members who could possibly be granted custody while the mother faces a charge of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm. 

“We are dealing with the condition of the child to ensure that he is kept in a safe place. It’s part of the court process when a child is removed. We have been having meetings with the grandmother and the father because we need to ascertain which relative is fit to take over the child. A full health assessment was done on the child before he was placed in a place of safety.  

“The assessment is quite thorough and investigates whether he had any [previous or current] broken bones and bruises. They also go as far as checking whether he [the child] has been given any substances."

She said while the child was in unfamiliar terrain, he was in a safe home, being cared for by professionals. 

“It’s a different space for him. He has been removed out of his own home, out of having people that he is familiar with ... so it’s a different space altogether. Naturally, he will be jittery and of course, he has been through quite an ordeal, so it’s about calming him down.” 

Hlophe said she could not talk about the details of the child’s injuries. “The assessments that are being done in terms of her [mother] being fit, all those are taken into consideration [during court proceedings]."

The woman who first posted the incident on social media, Gillian Mogale, said she received the video from the father of the child, who is her friend. 

Upon seeing it, she took to social media, posting the video that evoked emotions and triggered anger towards the incident.  

“I know how the justice system in the country is and I did not want this to be one of the cases that are swept under the carpet. There are many cases of abuse that go unreported because they are never exposed. I posted the video with the child’s best interest at heart,” she told Sowetan.

“I got a chance to ask her [the mother] on WhatsApp on Tuesday about the incident, and she asked me if I don’t discipline my children. What she did was not discipline, it was abuse.”

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za