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The organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse has welcomed the life sentences imposed on a couple convicted of murder and child abuse.
WMACA’s Miranda Jordan said they were extremely pleased with the sentences imposed on Belinda and Stefanus Bezuidenhout by Judge Mokate Noko in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
The National Prosecuting Authority said Belinda Bezuidenhout was sentenced to two life terms for murder and rape and 15 years on several counts of child abuse of their two children, a boy and girl, aged two and six.
Stefanus was given a life sentence for rape and 30 years for being an accessory to murder, and child abuse.
The duo was convicted in June in the horrific abuse and murder of their three-year-old daughter known only as Baby B, and the brutal treatment of her surviving brother, Little D, who's six years old.
The pair's daughter died in 2021 shortly after she was placed back in their care, while, at least on one occasion, the couple allegedly poured boiling water on the little boy.
NPA spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said the sentences will run concurrently.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Noko noted that the couple acted in common purpose, highlighting their lack of remorse.
Meanwhile, Jordan said WMACA believes that the sentences are sending a strong message to would-be offenders and those people standing by, not reporting their observations or suspicions of child abuse.
“We can only hope that Baby B can rest in peace and that her older brother will find healing and find his place in life, in a happy and loving home,” she said.
Meanwhile, WMACA’s Head of Advocacy and Child Protection Specialist, Luke Lamprecht, says they are calling for "urgent reform" in the two-tier court system, saying if the matter had remained in the Magistrate’s court, the two baby killers would probably have never seen a day in jail.
All child abuse cases should be heard in the high court, or in specialised courts specifically geared to handle these cases, with highly trained officials in place, from the investigating officers to the court officials," he said.
