Child-rape accused claims state witnesses lied
A 51-year-old man accused of kidnapping and raping two little girls testified on Thursday that evidence from state witnesses was not true and that some had lied for witness fees to buy alcohol.
Testifying in his own defence in the Port Elizabeth High Court, Mlungiseleli Patrick Tyane made a number of bizarre claims including that the investigating officer who testified in court was not the detective handling the case and that forensic evidence had been tampered with.
At the start of his trial, Tyane pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping and one count of attempted murder but made certain admissions, including that blood found on his clothing the day he was arrested belonged to one of the victims.
After the state closed its case, Tyane did an about-turn and retracted his admissions, and while testifying on Thursday remained adamant that he did not know how the fiveyear-old ended up naked on a mattress in his shack when police came looking for her.
It is alleged that on September 20 2017, Tyane lured two girls, then aged five and six, to his shack in the Chris Hani informal settlement in New Brighton after giving them money to buy potato crisps from a nearby shop.
When the girls returned to his shack, Tyane allegedly pushed them inside, ordered them to undress, tied them up and raped them.
Later that day, Tyane allegedly took the six-year-old to an open field near the Ford Stadium where he allegedly stabbed her several times before leaving her for dead.
The five-year-old was later found naked under a blanket in Tyane’s shack after the sixyear-old pointed out where her friend was being kept.
On Thursday, Tyane told the court that on September 20 2017 after leaving his taxi conductor job in Sidwell he went to a tavern near his shack at about 6pm where he drank two beers and a litre of crackling wine.
Upon leaving the tavern after 7pm, Tyane said he heard a commotion from residents in the area.
When he asked a person if he knew what was happening, he was told the community was searching for two missing girls, he said.
Returning to his shack, Tyane said he went inside, closed the door, took off his clothes and got into bed.
Asked by state prosecutor Megan September why a state witness had said she saw him joining the search party, Tyane said the witness was lying.
“The woman who said she saw me in the search was lying. What she said is not true.
“Maybe she came forward as a witness for the witness fees so that she could go drinking,” Tyane said.
Tyane was arrested in the early hours of September 21 2017 after police arrived at his shack and found the five-yearold there.
“There was apparently a child on the far side [of the mattress].
“I did not know the [fiveyear-old girl] was inside the shack when I was there.
“I could not see if the child was dressed or not,” Tyane said.
Tyane further denied ever seeing the two girls, giving them money or sending them to the shop.
He claimed that when he was taken to the New Brighton police station he was instructed to undress, which he did, but he denied that there was any blood on his clothes at the time.
Tyane further claimed that the forensic photographer who complied a report and testified in court was not the photographer who had taken the pictures of him.
“The photographer and the detective are lying,” Tyane said.
After Tyane testified his defence lawyer, Khaya Saziwa, closed his case without calling further witnesses or leading any further evidence.
Judgment in the matter is expected to be handed down on December 10.