No bail for uncle accused of rape

Magistrate says it would not be in interest of justice

AREESTON man who allegedly raped his nineyear-old niece while walking her to school on April 13 was yesterday denied bail by the East London Magistrate’s Court.

The 26-year-old, a staunch member of the Old Apostle Church, is accused of raping the child inside a half-built shack in Reeston.

He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim.

Yesterday, he appeared in front bail court magistrate Joel Cesar, who said the state’s case was that the man told the child he knew of a shortcut to her school.

Denying the man bail, Cesar said he had been placed in a position of trust by the young girl and her single mother.

Cesar said the state’s case was that the unsuspecting girl followed her uncle to the unfinished shack in a bushy area, where he raped her.

It was the state’s case that the man later threatened to harm her if she ever told anyone of what he had allegedly done to her, said Cesar.

The state was planning to argue that when the man eventually made his way to the young girl’s school, he asked one of the teachers for toilet paper which he used to wipe the girl’s private parts, said Cesar.

However, the gruesome act was discovered by the girl’s mother – the accused’s older sister – when the young girl showed signs of distress and struggled to walk the following morning.

Cesar said the girl was taken to a nearby clinic, where she was transferred to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.

State prosecutor Asanda Nolusu told the court that the doctor’s report would show that the child had been penetrated.

However, she said, DNA results were still outstanding.

Nolusu said the man could face a life sentence if found guilty.

The man, who told court that he was “in and out” of the province as he works as a mechanic in the Free State where their parents reside, was arrested on April 17.

He told the court he would plead not guilty.

He said he was a Grade 11 dropout and that if he was released on bail, he would go back to school to pursue a business management qualification.

He said he had a seven-year-old son he had to take care of financially.

Nolusu argued that if released on bail the man would intimidate witnesses “because he is familiar with their identities”.

Cesar said it would not be in the interest of justice to release the man on bail “as you are very close to the alleged victim, and due to the seriousness of the scourge of violent crimes in South Africa”.

The accused was represented by Legal Aid and will appear again in court on May 30. —