THE cop denies raping the 11-year-old girl.
He said he merely rescued her from two boys who had cornered her outside a tavern.
But the Family Violence and Child Protection Services are telling a different story.
Detective-Constable Lolo Mabunda (35), who is based at the Vosman cop shop near Witbank, Mpumalanga, pleaded not guilty to two charges of kidnapping and rape in the Mhala Regional Court on Friday. He told the court that he stumbled on two boys who had cornered the girl outside a tavern in Athol Village, Thulamahashe in the early hours of 15 July.
But Captain Peter Mhlongo, of the Family Violence and Child Protection Services, said the accused was confronted by an angry crowd who spotted him pushing the girl into his car. The crowd immediately barricaded his way with rocks and branches to stop him from fleeing with her.
“He managed to slip away and drove off,” Mhlongo told the court. “He raped her in the car and then dumped her in the street,” he alleged.
Mhlongo said if Mabunda was released, the victim would no longer be safe as Mabunda is known to be violent. He said Mabunda had already been linked to the rape by DNA.
“The police officers who investigated the matter also live in fear,” he said.
“The accused keeps making calls, intimidating them. He tells them he will finish them off if they don’t stop going after him. At night, he would either park his car in front of my house, or those of my colleagues.”
Mhlongo said the cellphone that the accused used to make the telephone calls was found in his possession in the holding cells.
Mabunda will appear in court again today.
