A father who went overboard when disciplining his teenage daughter has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to poor treatment and punishment of a child.
Tselaetsile Mosime, 61, admitted assaulting his child with a broom and a metal rod in a domestic abuse case that shocked attendees at Extension II Magistrates Court this week.
Court heard the incident occurred on 13 March 2023 in Tlokweng, when the victim, who was 15 years old at the time, returned home after collecting food from her aunt’s house.
Mosime told her that everything inside the house belonged to him – a declaration reportedly met with stony silence, much to the old man’s fury.
He reportedly reacted by striking his daughter with a broom on the back of her head before grabbing and strangling her.
In an attempt to free herself from his grip, the frightened teenager bit her dad on his left hand.
The violence then escalated, with Mosime allegedly hitting the minor in the head again, this time using a metal rod.
He was arrested five days later following police investigations into the assault, which was reported by the teen’s mother.
During mitigation, the prosecution informed court Mosime has previous with the law. In 2003, he was convicted of theft before Urban Customary Court, where he received four strokes as punishment.
However, Magistrate Tselaetsile Mmesi ordered the heavy-handed father be treated as a first offender.
The Magistrate noted the accused had no lawful justification for assaulting his child and subsequently convicted him on his own plea of guilty.
Pleading for leniency, the dreadlocked dad told court he was the sole breadwinner for his family and insisted he had learnt from his actions.
Despite his sob story, Mosime’s bail was revoked; he will be sentenced on 3 June.
