Court charges four in viral toddler mandrax case as outrage grows

A mother and three men accused of encouraging a 4-year-old boy to smoke mandrax have officially been charged with attempted murder and child abuse.

The four suspects appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, following the circulation of a disturbing video that shows the child lighting and smoking from a mandrax bottleneck pipe.

Initially, only the child’s mother and two men were arrested on Tuesday.

A fourth suspect was added to the case on Thursday after being taken into custody on Wednesday. He now faces the same charges as the others.

Magistrate Jacobus Prestorius has ruled that the accused may not be identified until they secure legal representation.

Local authorities and community activists have expressed outrage over the incident, with some calling it one of the most shocking acts of child abuse in recent memory.

Westbury Ward Councillor, Marilyne Smouse, says the actions of the four adults are nothing short of inhumane.

“I know these people personally, they grew up in front of me. So, it is sad to see mothers, fathers can do this to a little boy, someone who cannot defend themselves,” says the community builder.

Smouse also warned that the social conditions in communities like Westbury are worsening, adding that a lack of government’s intervention has left residents feeling abandoned.

“Us as coloured people, we’re being marginalised and I’m going to say this unapologetically. We live in a multi racial area right now but we’re still being marginalised. We never shut anyone out be it colour or race but us as coloured people we’re still being marginalised,” she emphasises.

Meanwhile, outside court, children’s rights activists held a small demonstration demanding justice and swift prosecution of the accused.

Local activist, Dereleen James, who was among the demonstrators, said the case has added fuel to the fire of South Africa’s ongoing crisis of child neglect.

“We will calling everyone to support this case for this is a minor, this is not an isolated case. We know and we’ve heard from the community that this continues to happen, that entire block we have parents that are violating children’s and we know that drugs are rife in our community,” added James.

James also criticised social workers and child protection services for repeated failures to protect vulnerable children.

The case has been postponed to Monday, August 4th, for the accused to obtain legal representation.

The child has been put in a place of safety. Written by Lebohang Ndashe