The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has barred the media from publishing the picture of a man accused of raping two minors, to protect the identity of the victims. His lawyer argued he’s a friend of the mother of one of the victims, and this could result in revealing the identity of the victims.
This, despite the fact that a video showing his face had already been shown on social media platforms before he was arrested. The 45-year-old is accused of raping the two girls, aged 11 and 13, at a Pretoria Hotel two weeks ago.
Scores of bikers and women’s groups were protesting outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. The man allegedly took the two minors from Lotus Gardens near Atteridgeville to a liquor outlet in Pretoria West, and then to a hotel where he allegedly booked a room and raped them. The youngest victim managed to escape and alerted staff working in the hotel.
Hotel security then called police who arrested the man. The victims are undergoing trauma counselling.
Relatives attending the court proceedings have called for harsher punishment for the perpetrator.
“He abandoned the bail because he knew what he did. In the trending video, he said this because he was out on parole for raping a seven-year-old girl. Now, he’s eating three meals a day while we are suffering from the kids. We want three life sentences. That’s what we want.”
The accused has abandoned his bail application citing security concerns.
Women protesting outside the court are opposing the bail. “The person does not deserve bail and must rot in jail. What he did is so wrong. These kids are so young,” says one woman. “Yes, they’re too young. Why did he do these?” asks another.
“No bail. He must rot in jail. He must die in jail. Or else we shall take the law into our own hands,” added the third one.
Secretary of the ANC Women’s League in the Greater Tshwane Region, Alphina Ndlovana, says as women they’re contemplating new strategies to end Gender-Based Violence.
“We are going to invite the NGOs, which are dealing with GBV. We are not going to do it alone, we are partnering with people who have the interest of the women at heart before the 16th of February next year. We will issue a date for a sleep at the President’s office or a hunger strike as the women. There are a lot of strategies. We are going to sit and plan to check which strategy is good for us.”
The suspect served time for a previous rape case and was out on parole when the alleged rapes took place.
#NOTINMYNAME supporters also came in their numbers to support the families of the victims.
Themba Masango, speaking on their behalf, says, “We are happy that bail has been denied and the perpetrator is saying he does not want bail because it is clear should he receive bail, his safety won’t be guaranteed outside. We are very much impressed by the community coming out to support this.”
The case has been postponed to the 16th of February next year. This is because the state is still waiting for DNA results and to allow the police sufficient time for further investigations.
Activists demand stronger measures against rapists:
