The Wolmaranstad Magistrate’s Court has postponed the case of a 45-year-old man accused of raping his estranged wife. The case will be back in court on the 17th of September. The accused – whose identity cannot be revealed at this stage – is an official at the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality at Wolmaranstad in the North West.
He made a brief court appearance today – his second. The case was postponed to next month as investigations are still unfolding. The accused allegedly raped his estranged wife last month. Meanwhile, outside court, different political parties called for harsh punishment against the accused. They reiterated their stance against Gender-Based Violence.
Tebogo Phutiyagae of the EFF elaborates: “ We are here as the EFF, we are saying enough is enough. Stop hurting our women; stop hurting our children. Should you persist in being a perpetrator of such crimes, we will expose you. We will stand against you and we will make sure that you are removed from society.”
ANC councillor, Phesi Mokgabi, says he’s concerned about the deployment of the accused at the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality.
“The mayor, the speaker and the municipal manager are in support of the perpetrator so we want action to be taken and I am calling upon the leadership of the ANC to descend upon their deployees. I am a councillor here, we appear to be sleeping in our laurels.”
The municipality says it will not comment because the matter is still under investigation. The accused has been instructed by the magistrate not to contact the victim. He has to report to the Wolmaransstad Police Station on Saturdays. The case will be back in court on the 17th of September.
