By Luvuyo Mjekula
Following recent reports of an alleged serial rapist on the loose in Makhanda, a 34-year-old man appeared in the local magistrate’s court this week facing multiple rape charges dating back to January 2022 and involving eight victims aged between five and 47 years old.
Grocott’s Mail reported last week that on Grahamstown Anti-Crime neighbourhood watch’s Facebook posts, it was alleged that a convict, out on parole, had raped seven children between the ages of five and eight years old that previous week and, according to community members, had not been arrested for the recent cases of alleged rape.
Some of the parents of the victims protested outside the magistrates’ court last week in support of the call for no bail for the rape accused in various cases in court, and hoped the alleged rapist, said to be still at large, would also be in police custody soon so that justice could be served, Grocott’s reported.
It then emerged in court on Monday this week that the police had arrested a 34-year-old man, who is known to Grocott’s Mail but cannot be named until he has pleaded, on Thursday 9 November on three counts of rape involving minor children.
Responding to a Legal Aid attorney’s question regarding previous convictions, the man confirmed in court that he had previously been found guilty of rape and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. He was released on parole in 2019, which would expire on 18 May 2024.
He informed the court that community members did not want him back in their neighbourhood and had burnt his home down before.
According to the charge sheet, seven of his victims are children whose ages range from five to 16 years. Only one victim is an adult, born in 1976.
Magistrate Xoliswa Msesiwe postponed the case to Friday, 17 November for a formal bail application.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, Msesiwe released a 45-year-old Makhanda man charged with raping an 18-year-old schoolgirl, on R500 bail, much to the disappointment of community members who had protested outside the court calling for the accused to be kept in custody.
“Sadly, the community has been failed by the justice system,” fumed Mfundo Tsili, the spokesperson for Grahamstown Anti-Crime. He said the magistrate had failed to take into account important aspects including the young woman’s trauma and the fact that she was writing her end-year exams. Tsili continued: “What about the damage to the child as detailed in the J88 form?”
He said the government was spending millions [of rand]on the fight against GBV, adding that communities and NPOs also played their part. “It is so sad and painful when the justice system does not seem to support the fight against GBV. We are highly disappointed as the community. If that car had not stopped, who knows what could have happened to the [complainant]?”
In releasing the accused, Msesiwe said she took into account, among other things, the seriousness of the crime and the safety of the complainant, as emphasised by investigating officer, Warrant Officer Mlulami Theo Mafani. She said it was the duty of the court to “strike a balance” when considering the reasons for the release of the accused, the state opposing bail as well as the right of the complainant to be protected.
Msesiwe said she was satisfied that the state had a “prima facie” case against the accused.
She also considered the interests of justice and those of the community.
Having taken into consideration all the evidence presented to her, she found that the accused had satisfied the requirements to be released on bail. The two reside quite a distance apart and she found no evidence that the accused had intimidated the complainant from the time the incident allegedly took place and that of his arrest.
The alleged rape reportedly took place on 16 September near Rautenbach Road.
The investigating officer, Mafani, of Makhanda police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit, stated that the young woman was on her way to meet a friend in the industrial area when she was allegedly confronted by an unknown man at about 10 am. She had tried to take a pedestrian shortcut that crossed the bushes “but the accused person followed her and grabbed her and started to rape her,” Mafani said in a statement. She was later assisted by a passing motorist. A case of rape was opened on the same day.
After the drawing of an identikit and with the help of other investigative methods, the police traced the accused to his workplace where he was arrested on Saturday 4 November.
The state had opposed bail in the matter for the safety of the complainant. Mafani said she did not feel safe and was receiving counselling.
As a strict bail condition, Msesiwe instructed the accused not to interfere with the complainant or his bail would be revoked and his money may be forfeited to the state. If he fails to appear in court, a warrant of arrest may be issued against him.
To ensure her safety, the complainant’s name would not be made public.
The case was postponed to 13 December for further investigation.
