NW old age home facing murder, rape claims not registered – govt

The old age home made headlines in June when two elderly residents, aged 75 and 92, were arrested for the alleged murder of Godfrey Motsepe Thema.

The accused, Jeremiah Mmatli and Daniel Madumo, subsequently died while in custody, and the case against them was withdrawn after their death certificates were submitted to the court.

It later emerged that a staffer at the facility had been arrested in January this year after a co-worker reported that he allegedly caught him raping a resident at the centre.

North West police confirmed that a suspect, who is in his late 50s, was arrested and appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on two counts of rape.

After his first appearance in February, the suspect appeared again in the same court on 27 June, where the matter was postponed to 5 August for further investigation.

READ: Old age home of horror: Claims of rape, assaults at NW centre

On Monday, the Department of Social Development in the North West confirmed that the old age home, a non-profit organisation, is not registered in terms of Section 18 (1) (a) of the Older Person’s Act No 13 of 2006.

This section of the Act states that “…no person may operate a residential facility unless such facility has been registered under this section.” Further to this, section 18 (2) states that “a person who wishes to operate a residential facility must, in the prescribed manner, apply to the minister [of social development] for the registration thereof.”

The department’s spokesperson, Petrus Siko, confirmed the reports the centre was ordered to halt all operations.

He also said the facility is not compliant with the necessary regulations to house elderly residents.

“It is true, the facility has been ordered to shut its doors until such time that they have registered as an Old Age home in terms of Section 18 (1) (a) of the Older Person’s Act No 13 of 2006.”

Siko confirmed that a meeting was held at the weekend with members of the community and the relatives of the elderly persons housed at the facility, where they were informed about its imminent closure.

Jacaranda FM News has been reliably informed that some families resisted the centre’s closure over concerns about where the elderly people would go if they were to be relocated.

STEPS TAKEN SINCE THE MURDER

The department said before the reported murder it had not received any complaints about the centre. It also says it was not aware of the reported rape of the two residents, allegedly by one of the staff members, despite that the matter was reported to police over six months ago.

However, Siko reported that steps were taken as soon as the department learned about the murder in June.

“The Department of Social Development compiled the incident report immediately after the incident was reported, and the counselling was provided to the older persons and the affected caregivers by the area social workers.

“The area/ward social workers have also profiled the older persons (beneficiaries) for further interventions and possible reunification with their families.”

He added that the department also engaged the Madibeng local municipality to conduct an environmental assessment report, which was done on 26 June 2024.

“The Department of Public Works and Roads was also engaged to conduct an assessment of the buildings the Old Age Home is using. This was conducted on the 2 July 2024,” said Siko.

This is the timeline for the interventions by the government to address concerns about the old age home, according to the department:

• 04 June – The Officials of the Service Point and District visited the facility immediately after the incident was reported. The purpose of the visit was to establish facts and obtain information to compile the incident report.

• 06 June – The area Social Workers visited the facility to conduct counselling for the elderly persons and affected care givers.
  

• 07 June – The area social workers visited the facility for profiling of elderly persons.
  

• 28 June – The District Management also visited the facility to communicate the closure of the facility based on their registration status.

• 02 July – The Nursing Manager of Sonop Old Age Home of the Department visited the facility to establish mental health information on the elderly persons through an assessment of their files.
  

• 06 July – The District Team, together with the Management of Ipeleng Bagodi [held] a meeting with the family members of the beneficiaries. The purpose of the meeting is to inform the family members of the elderly persons about the closure of the facility.
  

Section 18 (3)(a) of the Older Person’s Act states that “[the minister may] subject to the conditions that he or she may determine, grant authority to the applicant to operate the residential facility, for such period not exceeding 12 months, as the minister may determine and may direct that a temporary registration certificate specifying those conditions be issued to the applicant in the prescribed form for that period, and after expiration of the said period, or after notice by the applicant in the prescribed manner that the said conditions have been complied with, whichever occurs first, reconsider the application.”

A temporary registration, as contemplated in the aforementioned section of the Act, may not be extended for more than 12 months. The Act further states that anyone who does not comply with the prescribed conditions is guilty of an offence. 

Siko appealed to the public to make sure that the non-profit organisations they approach for the care of the elderly are registered. 

"We are in the process of closing this facility and removing all the elderly people to an alternative old age home in the province that is fully registered. We appeal to community members to check the status of every NPO as to whether it is registered or not before they take elderly people to those facilities."

It’s unclear how long the old age home has been operating without the necessary registration.

Further efforts to interview the centre manager for this follow-up report were unsuccessful. 

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