CHARGES of rape against a 50-year-old man, who is a member of the community policing forum and civic organisation, were withdrawn at the Mhala Magistrates Court on Friday.
This following his lawyer Owen Mnisi arguing that his client had been partially kept behind bars for almost six months while the state insisted it was waiting for the DNA test results.
“My client is happy that the matter has been provisionally withdrawn on merits as the case did not hold water,” said Mnisi.
But, the matter did not sit well with the 10-year-old victim’s family, who were also in court.
“We are really disappointed with the decision. How is my child is going to live, seeing her attacker on a daily basis? She is disturbed and traumatised, and going back there will hurt her. Since the rape, she is always crying and can’t walk properly. Doctors said her cervix was damaged and she might never have kids. But we’re planning to appeal the matter,” the girl’s mum (25) said.
She told the SunTeam she had visited her lover in Mkhuhlu near Hazyview, leaving her daughter playing with the accuser’s kids at his homestead in Hlalakahle Village. When she came back home, her daughter was crying and not walking properly. Her panties had red spots, and doctors confirmed she had been raped. She told her the man raped her after taking her from the gate, and then released her in the morning.
