Charges dropped
Two men accused of raping children now have to rebuild their lives
CHARGES against two elderly white men from Kenton-on-Sea relating to child rape and molestation were dropped this week, but the men might never recover from the stigma of being accused of such a heinous crime.
The two men, one in his 60s and the other over 80 years of age, were separately charged after evidence was presented to the police by two underage black girls from Ekuphumleni township, who reported they had been sexually molested and raped by each of the men at their respective homes.
The incidents were alleged to have occurred between December 2015 and June 2016.
From the outset, the allegations led to mass demonstrations outside the Kenton Magistrate’s Court each time the men appeared to request bail.
Although bail was initially denied to both men, one finally had his bail set at R5 000 by the Grahamstown High Court, reigniting the anger of the Ekuphumleni community. Following this, and during yet another court appearance, Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development, Nomadewuka Nancy Sihlwayi visited the court to reassure the community she would expedite matters and ensure that justice was done.
It was clear at the initial bail applications that there were serious omissions and errors in investigating officer Linda Tete’s report.
Tete’s charge sheet stated that one of the alleged victims was 10 years of age and the other 12. It was subsequently revealed that both girls were in fact 12 years old. Similarly, the address given by both girls where one of the accused had allegedly committed the crime was totally incorrect. Further, statements apparently made separately by each of the girls and read out by Tete in court, were identical, leading to speculation they had been coached or had rehearsed their statements together.
According to Tete’s testimony, and evidenced in the medical examiner’s report, one of the girls had indeed had sexual relations, whereas the second girl had not.
Finally, Tete was unable to give specific times and dates of the alleged incidents, just that they occurred “several times” between the Christmas period of 2015 and June 2016.
However, it appears the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) felt, at that time, there was enough evidence to continue with the case.
Khula Community Development Project director Petros Majola spoke to the demonstrators outside the court during Sihlwayi’s visit in December, further inflaming the situation.
A statement handed to Sihlwayi, and read aloud to the already angry demonstrators, stated: “In this case we have some questions because we assume that the colour of [the alleged perpetrators’] skin has contributed a lot when the office of the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice were taking this decision [to grant bail to one of the accused]”.
Attorney for one of the accused, Basil Williams, told TotT he was happy that charges against his client had been dropped, but speculated the police had not done enough for the NPA to pursue the matter.
“I do not know yet why the charges were dropped, but it would appear that the NPA had insufficient evidence to take it further,” said Williams.
“I can tell you that my client is both relieved and feels vindicated. It has been an ordeal for him and the accusations have virtually ruined his life.”
TotT has been following the case from the outset, and contacted the NPA to ask why charges had been dropped.
“We can confirm that after careful consideration of all angles in this matter, the decision not to prosecute [names withheld] on charges of rape/indecent assault was taken as there was no reliable evidence and the DNA evidence was negative,” wrote NPA media liaison Tshepo Ndwalaza.
“We can also confirm that the complainants contradicted one another in material respects during consultation and it transpired that some of the girls had prompted the others to make false allegation[s] which further aggravated the situation.”