A 50-YEAR-OLD community organisation member made a brief appearance at Mhala Magistrates Court today for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl.
He was not asked to plead to the charges before Magistrate Tanya Du Preez.
Prosecutor Connie Moshabela opposed bail, saying the matter fell under schedule six offences.
“According to the charge sheet, the incident happened on 10 July at Hlalakahle Village. You raped a seven-year-old child. You have a right to get a lawyer from Legal Aid or from your own pocket as this offence you are facing is very serious and falls under schedule six,” said Du Preez.
ANCWL members, led by provincial secretary Lydia Moroane, were protesting outside court to oppose bail.
“This month, issues of gender-based violence and femicide are regarded as a second pandemic. So we are saying all perpetrators of this sort must not get bail. And today we are happy. We are going to support this victim and her family until justice is served accordingly,” said Moroane.
The victim’s mum (25) was impressed the court opposed bail. “He is a married man and a loyal member of our community civic organisation but he chose to rape a minor,” she said.
The mum said she visited the man in Mkhuhlu outside Hazyview, Mpumalanga and left her daughter playing with his kids on the day of the rape. She was surprised when she returned home to find the little girl missing until the next morning.
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“She was not walking properly and crying as she could not play with other kids. When asked what had happened, she said she was raped by him at his house after being grabbed and he only released her in the morning. Her pants were dirty and had reddish spots. Doctors confirmed she was raped, and we reported the matter to the police who responded quickly and arrested him.”
The matter was postponed until Thursday.
