Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza praised the justice system after the Greytown Regional Court imposed a stiff sentence on an elderly man for raping and kidnapping a teenage girl.
According to information received from the department and police, the man is aged between 57 and 60, while the teen is aged 17 or 18.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said that last Monday, the court convicted and sentenced the man for rape, sexual assault and kidnapping after the court heard how he had kidnapped and raped the teen.
Prior to his arrest, “the accused became unpredictable and attempted to evade arrest by all means”.
“On August 6, 2019, he handed himself over to the Greytown FCS Unit where he was arrested. During his trial, he claimed insanity which could not be confirmed by a mental institution. He made several court appearances before he was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, twelve years for sexual assault and an additional five years for kidnapping,” Ngcobo said.
The department said that the elderly man allegedly colluded with relatives of the orphaned victim.
MEC Khoza said it was shameful that in such crimes relatives were often involved and did not appear to see “anything wrong”.
“Even when a child returned home after the man tried to rape her, the family continued with pre-marital rituals and accepted dowry or ilobolo from the perpetrator. The actions of this family were so immoral and they were only interested in making a decision on behalf of the child, forcing her to marry someone against her will. This is even worse because the victim is a minor,” Khoza said.
She said it was disgusting that the family was aware that the victim did not want to get married, but continued to endorse the violation of the child's rights.
“Someone in this family should have been arrested together with this man. This family was an accomplice to the crime and they should be facing jail time. They were even aware that the victim was kidnapped by the accused and taken to his home in Ntembisweni, but never reported it to the police,” Khoza said.
It was said that girl was held captive and repeatedly raped for 10 days, and was rescued by social workers who were alerted to her plight.
“We applaud teamwork between police, social workers and the National Prosecuting Authority, for ensuring that the suspect couldn't escape. This case is exemplary - that such matters can be resolved easily if statements are taken properly because the investigation becomes easy and the court is able to hand down sentences that fit the crimes.
“As we face a barrage of gender-based violence cases, such teamwork is needed in order to send perpetrators of this crime to jail,” Khoza said.
When the victim was rescued, she was found chained to a table.
Khoza added that sending the man to prison for such a long time indicated that the justice cluster was committed to fighting the scourge of gender-based violence.
“No abuser will be spared. We want to see them all in jail. Many people involved in ukuthwala should be punished,” she said.
According to police, between February and July 2019, an 18-year-old female who was residing with her aunt was forced to marry a 57-year-old man from her church. The aunt and the church elders had agreed to the union and the aunt accepted payment for the arrangement. She would allow the man to come to her house and have his way with the girl and when the girl complained she would be reminded that traditionally she belonged to the man.
When the 18-year-old realised that no one was willing to listen to her concerns, she attempted to kill herself on two occasions. She had nowhere to flee as both her parents had died. She then decided to run away from her aunt’s house, but the man was well connected.
He hired two men to track down his victim; she was caught and taken to the man’s house in Greytown where she was expected to continue with her marital duties. He attempted to rape her and she fought back. When he realised that it was not going to be easy to overpower her, she was taken to Matimatolo where she was handcuffed and raped repeatedly.
She was kept in a room for months and the community became suspicious when they heard her crying whenever the man was around.
“Police were alerted and they responded swiftly. The girl was rescued and charges of rape, sexual assault as well as kidnapping were opened. The matter was investigated by the Greytown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences,” Ngcobo said.
Daily News