Cheers as Dros rape accused drops bail bid
Suspect in case that shocked the nation to stay in jail until next court appearance
The crowd in the packed courtroom erupted and cheered when they heard the news – the alleged Dros rapist is not applying for bail and will return to prison.
The 20-year-old man accused of raping a seven-yearold girl in the bathroom of the Dros restaurant in Silverton‚ Pretoria‚ was visibly nervous – biting his lip and staring in front of him – during the court proceedings.
Civil society movement Not in my Name has called for a charge of attempted murder to be added.
The man, who may not be named by law until he has pleaded, wore a dark grey sweater‚ black jeans‚ white socks and orange flip-flops.
He had visible injuries to his face and ear, allegedly inflicted after he was caught.
Children carrying placards reading “No bail for rape and murder” and “Don’t hurt us” joined scores of people outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court during the hearing.
Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga, ANC regional chair Kgosi Maepa and ANC Women’s League general secretary Meokgo Matuba were also at the court, where political parties and onlookers had gathered in large numbers.
Some peeked through a window in the door to try to get a look at the accused, whose hair has been completely shaved off.
Roads around the court were closed and there was a heavy police presence.
The court first heard an application by Netwerk24 to allow the media to take photographs before and after court proceedings.
Magistrate Marley Mokoena granted the application for still photographs‚ but allowed no filming.
The accused was returned to the holding cells after this‚ but returned after the adjournment with a changed outfit‚ this time emerging in a light grey hoodie.
His eyes were glued to the floor as he covered his face.
Mokoena postponed the case to November 1.
The state asked for the postponement for further investigation‚ to launch an application to obtain the suspect’s cellphone for “forensic downloading” and outstanding DNA evidence.
“His grandmother indicated that he [the accused] does have a cellphone and he knows where it is‚” state prosecutor Sanet Jacobson said.
According to Netwerk24‚ one reason why the man is not applying for bail is because he had been living with his grandmother‚ who has cut ties with him and is reportedly not willing to provide her home address for his bail application.
Legal Aid attorney Riaan du Plessis‚ representing the suspect, said that if the state wanted to obtain the man’s cellphone‚ it must apply to do so.
“It is the accused’s private property and he has the right against self-incrimination and providing [the] cellphone‚ and just making an order without a proper application from the state does not mean it should be granted.
“It is my submission that it will lead to an unfair trial‚ because the accused has the right against self-incrimination‚” Du Plessis said.
“It is my instruction from the accused that he does not want to help the state regarding these issues at this stage.”
Elaborating on the man’s injuries‚ Du Plessis claimed that police officers at the Silverton police station had instructed him to do push-ups‚ before kicking him.
“There are other instances of assault‚ which the accused also reported‚ that is that he was hit with open hands and with belts,” he said.
Du Plessis said the man had sustained some injuries when customers at the Dros had hit him on the head with a broken beer bottle after he was caught.
His injuries included a cut to his right ear‚ resulting in four stitches‚ two cuts to his forehead of about 15cm each‚ and a bloodshot left eye.
Huisgenoot reportedly spoke to a family member of the victim‚ who said: “She is getting all the support that she needs.
“She has doctors and paramedics who looked after her and are still taking care of her.”
Msimanga‚ who met with the family of the victim on Monday to offer support‚ said they were “taking it very‚ very hard”.
The mother had not been available for the meeting.
“We will continue to offer whatever support they need from us in this particular time,” he said.
“The engagement was very heartbreaking‚ because you have an innocent child who doesn’t know what is happening around [her]. You feel a
‘We will continue to offer support. The engagement was very heartbreaking‚ because you have an innocent child who doesn’t know what is happening around [her]’
Solly Msimanga
TSHWANE MAYOR
sense of wanting to do more but you don’t know what more you can do.”
He said that when he had engaged with the police‚ he was told that there were signs that a rape had occurred at the restaurant.
Different political parties‚ civic organisations and others joined hands outside the court in a show of solidarity against rape.
Bikers against Child Abuse were also present, with the streets outside the court echoing with the revving of motorcycles.
Themba Masango, secretary-general of the Not in My Name movement advocating for the protection of women and children, said the accused must never see the light of day again.
“This is not just rape. A child almost died at the Dros restaurant,” he said.
“That is why we say this should be escalated to a charge of attempted murder.”
The accused made his first appearance in court on Tuesday last week, when the case was postponed for seven days for further investigation.
He faces a charge of rape‚ possession of drugs‚ intimidation and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The man was allegedly found with a substance that looked like cocaine, which has been sent for forensic testing.
The assault charges relate to him allegedly hitting out at waiters with a belt after he was caught.
The man allegedly watched the little girl in the restaurant play area and later followed her to the bathroom.
According to patrons‚ the mother of the child went looking for her after she noticed she was not in the play area.
She allegedly caught her daughter’s attacker in the act.
A video‚ purportedly taken moments after the rape ordeal‚ depicted a naked man who was partly covered in blood.
The government has called on people not to share the “disturbing” video.
Commission for Gender Equality spokesperson Javu Baloyi said they were monitoring the case. –
It is pretty much agreed in the business and investor community that the biggest risk to our collective future in SA is a political rather than, say, an economic or financial crisis.
This notion is also shared by political parties that favour a market-driven, liberal or social democratic development path.
Within the category of political risk sit two big threats: social instability and populism.
As these pose the greatest clear and present dangers, what can be done to mitigate them, and promote social stability, and sustainable economic and public policy?
It has been widely held by the business and political elite, and the institutions that manage the economy – the Treasury and the SA Reserve Bank – that the way to ward off these dangers is through the promotion of inclusive growth.
There is a lot of agreement among elites about what this means and the structural reforms necessary to get private investment and hence growth going.
This understanding will be the thrust of the two economic stakeholder summits to be held this month, one on jobs and the other on investment.
But while it is true that growth is essential to the whole project of building a sustainable future, if there is one thing we should have learnt from the past two decades it is that it is not enough.
Without effective social policies designed to promote equality, a tide of even quite good growth, say 4%, will not be inclusive enough to lift all boats.
And, unfortunately, the most important pillar of social policy for building inclusivity – education – has been the biggest failure of the democratic era.
What does this mean for SA’s social compacting process?
We can expect, for instance, that this week’s jobs summit will emerge with a slate of good and well-thought-out sector and project-based solutions that will play a role in creating some jobs.
Regulatory changes – for instance to the mining regime, tourism sector and the broadband spectrum – should also begin to unlock some investment in the medium term.
But without effective social reform, especially in education, the deals struck in these summits will not mount much of a defence against the dangers of social instability and populism.
They will not be enough to create a belief in the future among either the rich or the poor.
What can be done? A national effort should be made to save schooling.
Stakeholders need to ask what it will take and what it will cost, and weigh this against another 20 years of incremental improvements in a sea of dysfunctionality.
Weigh this further against the crisis of youth unemployment, and the growing signs of social disaffection and alienation: rising rates of murder and rape, violence against women and children, xenophobic looting and anarchic forms of political protest.
Weigh it also against mounting support for the EFF – which has captured the imagination of the urban youth and doubled its support since the last election.
The core of the problem in schooling is teaching.
Second and closely related is management.
For more than a decade, education department authorities and teachers’ trade unions have been locked in a destructive stand-off over measuring teacher competency and the appropriate remedies.
Rich and detailed research has shown that tens of thousands of teachers in township and rural schools just don’t have the cognitive skills necessary to teach the children under their charge.
This is because they suffer from cognitive gaps themselves, also having been poorly taught in the first place.
We see the results in numerous indicators; eight out of 10 children in grade 4 are unable to understand what they read; young people entering higher education at technical and vocational education training colleges crash out at a rate of 90% as they are unable to pass the high school numeracy and literacy modules.
A union-bashing approach will not work. A head-to-head with the SA Democratic Teachers Union will mean a strike and 800,000 kids on the streets.
It requires a negotiated and sensitive trade-off, balancing the fears of teachers for their livelihoods and the interests of children in poor communities.
The government – and the ANC, which likes to claim it is the leader of society – should also take responsibility for providing the other stakeholders in education, parents and communities, with the tools to play an active role in educating their children.
An educated public is a public that is able to take advantage of economic opportunities and even help create them.
An educated public will be less disposed to promises made by young men in red berets and more disposed to investing in themselves for the future.
● This article first appeared on BDLive
The most important pillar of social policy for building inclusivity – education – has been the biggest failure of the democratic era