Charges of sexual assault of children may soon be added to charges of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice brought against the founder of a Cape Town orphanage.
Amani Fonguh Okpara, also known as Amiena Madien, 49, made her first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, where the court heard charges of sexual assault may be brought against her and her husband pending an investigation by the Hawks.
Okpara runs the Al-Noor Child and Youth Care Centre in Melbourne Road, Woodstock, where the Department of Social Development last week removed 17 children and shut down the facility following allegations of sexual and physical abuse.
The children, boys and girls aged between seven and 16, have been placed in places of safety where they are undergoing assessments and counselling, the department said.
INVESTIGATION: Al-Noor Child and Youth Care Centre
According to Hawks spokesperson, Captain Philani Nkwalase, Okpara was nabbed on Friday following a lengthy investigation.
He said a total of 35 children were at the orphanage at the time, and the rest of the children have been reunited with their immediate relatives.
Okpara is accused of stealing donations to the orphanage by redirecting the money to her personal bank account.
“She was arrested during a sting operation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team toge-
ther with the Department of Social Development (DSD),” said Nkwalase.
“At the time of the arrest, there were 35 children in the building, for none of whom any record existed on the premises.”
Okpara and other officials at the orphanage have denied any wrongdoing.
In court, prosecutor Ardiel Jansen requested a
seven-day postponement for the gathering of bail information.
He said in addition, the Department of Home Affairs is investigating how Okpara, from Cameroon, and her husband, a Nigerian, had obtained citizenship in the country, calling it a “marriage of convenience”.
It is understood the husband is currently in Nigeria.
The matter was postponed to 25 June and Okpara will remain in custody at an undisclosed location.
In 2006, DSD officials found the orphanage was operating illegally and that prostitutes were working from the premises.
It was also found that Nolundi Ebi, a former Home Affairs employee, used contacts in the department to arrange birth certificates and other identity documents for the children.
These documents were then allegedly used to apply for social grants on behalf of the children, mainly from Langa, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.
Many of the children were found not to be orphans.
In 2010, an English donor exposed Okpara for doctoring photos showing some of their children at a soccer match.
According to VOC News, Carl Stevens, a 54-year-old Englishman living in Australia, donated money to Al-Noor to give the youngsters an opportunity to watch a World Cup match.
However, when asked for photos, Okpara stalled for a week, eventually sending him “badly photoshopped” pictures.
Okpara apologised to Stevens, saying the money was used for an excursion for the kids.