WATCH: Law is failing my girl, 7, disabled after being run over – dad
Even though a case was made against the perpetrator, the 'law is giving us the impression that people who do wrong do not have the responsibility to pay for their actions'.
Thato’s dad Andile Mokoena
The parents of a girl, seven, have lost all trust in the might of the law after the trucker who drove over their daughter’s legs walks free.
The Citizen spoke to Nthabiseng Motloung, mother of the girl, Thato Motloung. She was driven over by a construction truck from the Kunene ceilings company. She said 21 November last year – the day of her daughter’s accident – would remain the day their lives changed dramatically.
“Thato was outside, playing with her friends at our home in Palm Springs Secure Village, south of Johannesburg, when the truck driver bumped her. The truck had a trailer behind, which was loaded with construction equipment. Because of the speed the truck was travelling at, it managed to stop at the third house from where it bumped my child.
“I gave birth to a normal baby; little did I know she would grow up disabled, due to another’s negligence. Thato will most likely never be able to walk or play freely again,” Motloung said.
With tears in her eyes, she described how tough Thato’s accident had been on her and the family. It was as if her daughter was a dog, the way she was knocked over.
“It is painful to see the man who harmed my daughter walk around freely without serving the law for what he has done,” she said.
“Thato’s accident was taxing on our pockets and with only one income in our household, we are battling to meet her medical needs – but we will continue to sacrifice for her happiness.”
Thato’s dad Andile Mokoena said the law had failed to serve justice for his daughter.
Even though a case was made against the perpetrator, the “law is giving us the impression that people who do wrong do not have the responsibility to pay for their actions”.
“We have been shifted from different detectives since the day of the accident,” he said.
“The police station is not treating us fairly. My wife still has trouble sleeping at night and we are battling to see our child forced to grow up the way she is. Thato cries when we refuse her to play outside because she’s unable to,” Mokoena said.
The station commander at the Mafatsane police station in Evaton, who asked for his name not to be mentioned, said the court had requested the appointed detective to visit the accident scene and sketch what had happened.
He said: “The court has asked for a restatement from the mother of the child and the witness. [It] has also proposed a question to the mother’s negligence… Further investigation will be conducted.”
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