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"The department is however concerned with teenage girls who continue to be counted amongst these mothers, including a 12-year-old mother who delivered a healthy baby in Frontier Hospital in the Eastern Cape," the DoH said in a statement.

Eastern Cape Health MEC, Ntandokazi Capa, has tasked the head of the health department to send a team of officials to the hospital, along with other government stakeholders to investigate the matter further.

The DoH welcomed Capa's response.

"This follows a similar action taken in Limpopo which led to the arrest of a man who allegedly impregnated a 13-year-old girl," it said.

The accused in this matter, a 28-year-old man, has appeared in court following a charge of statutory rape as well as sexual grooming of a minor.

Provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi, said the man met the girl at a shopping complex in Seshego in January 2024 and began communicating until they became intimate in May 2024.

"The minor only revealed the incident to her aunt after experiencing complications, and later in November 2024, medical tests confirmed she was eight months pregnant, thus ultimately giving birth to a baby boy on Christmas Day," she said.

"The police were informed about the incident and the suspect was swiftly arrested by Seshego Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit."

He is due back in court on January 8.

The DoH is further appealing to families and members of the communities to cooperate with health officials and other authorities during such investigations by reporting any suspected rape, especially against girls and young women to law enforcement agencies.

seanne.rall@iol.co.za

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SA welcomes over 650 babies on New Year's Day, youngest mother is 12