U ordered to nurse „a„› whiŽe „eing raped

PIGG’S PEAK – Justice was served in a case where a woman was raped four times while she was forced to nurse her baby to keep her quiet.

Ntokozo Matsebula was convicted of raping *Jackie when he broke into her house at around 4am while she was sleeping with children. Matsebula appeared before Acting Pigg’s Peak Principal Magistrate Siphosini Dlamini last Friday. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15 of 2018. Absalom Shabangu represented the Crown in the matter.

Testified

Matsebula instead testified that he had not gone to Jackie’s home on the day of the said rape. However, according to Jackie, she had decided to sleep in the lounge during the day, because it was very hot. She said she slept in front of a television set which was turned on at the time. She testified that at around 4am, Matsebula got into the house and switched off the lights. He then pulled out the television set from the plug so the room was dark.

Jackie said he then ordered her to undress and proceeded to rape her, an ordeal that lasted for about two hours. He said during the rape, her baby woke up and cried, but Matsebula ordered her to nurse the child while he waited. She said at some point when she took too long nursing the child, he would order her to speed up so that he could continue the rape.

She also testified that at some point, he forced her to kiss him and continued to rape her.

Jackie said she obliged because she was afraid of being stabbed. She said before the rape ordeal, a neighbour was also raped and stabbed. She said she feared that the same fate would befall her.

Matsebula is also said to have held the knife close to Jackie’s body to warn her that if she screamed, he would stab her. After committing the crime, Matsebula is said to have fled, stealing cash amounting to E156 and also some sneakers valued at E209.

Witness

Another witness, who was identified as Jabulani Madasita, told the magistrate that he was also informed about the ordeal and assisted in finding the culprit. He said he had initially thought that it was a Mozambican who had raped Jackie, as there were some who had been staying in a nearby bush, engaged in some agricultural activities. However, Jackie is said to have said the person who had raped her was a liSwati because he was very fluent in siSwati. She also said she was able to identify him because she had seen him just before he entered the house and switched off the lights.

Though Matsebula had pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape, he was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, he was not sentenced because he insisted that he wanted to consult before he could respond. Though he did not have a lawyer, he said he would consult in prison on how he should handle this, because he still believed he was innocent. As a result, the matter was adjourned for July 15, 2022.