PETER Malibe, the lawyer of an ANC councillor accused of rape, lashed the Mhala Regional Court in Mpumalanga on Wednesday, 6 July.
He claimed the court was deliberately delaying his client’s case.
He argued that the matter was supposed to stand trial but this never happened.
His utterances came after the court postponed the matter for the arrangement of another prosecutor. as per the directive from senior prosecution authorities.
“I’m so disappointed with the way the state is handling this case. We can’t postpone the matter merely for a prosecutor.
“The state has a weak case against my client. Two prosecutors consulted the victim twice, and she declined that she was raped,” said Malibe.
The councillor is finally facing prosecution after being accused of raping his daughter and evading the law.
The EFF’s regional chief whip and head of gender-based violence, Zinhle Nyathi, said they will continue to support the family. they would support the victim’s family until the matter is finalised.
“We ensured that the concillor’s stay in the municipal council is short-lived. We will always be on the side of the oppressed,” she said. Recently, we have stopped the council sitting, pushing that he must step aside from his duties until this case is finalised by the court of law. The ANC has shot its leg. It put him in the position knowing very well that he had a dark cloud hanging over his head,” she said.
Mpumalanga ANC spokeswoman Ngilozi Ndlovu said they have written a letter to the municipal speaker for the councillor to step aside from his duties, as he was formally charged, until he’s cleared by the court.
He’s out on warning, pending his next appearance on 28 July.
