Learner tried to kill herself after alleged rape

THE GRANDDAUGHTER of a Gauteng MEC attempted suicide months after she was allegedly raped by the son of an Orlando Pirates legend.

The victim’s mother said her daughter had been living with the MEC, who has been vocal about the abuse of women and children, in her home in Sandton, when the alleged rape occurred.

She was only 14 on February 6, 2016 when the man, a 25-year-old goalkeeper of a National First Division club, allegedly raped her.

“It happened just a few houses from where she lived with her grandmother,” the mother said.

Neither the MEC nor the girl’s parents can be named to protect the identity of the 17-year-old matric learner.

The accused, who hails from Nigeria, can also not be named because he has not pleaded to the rape charge.

The mother said she found out about the incident when her daughter’s friend sent her a voice note on February 6, on the second anniversary of the alleged attack.

She said the man, who was apparently dating her daughter’s friend, was with her cousin in the house at the time.

“My daughter was picked up by her friend and they went to the house, where she was raped. They had been drinking alcohol and my daughter threw up.

“She then told the people she was with that she was drunk and could not go home because her grandmother would be angry.

“She asked if she could lie down and was taken to the bedroom. The cousin tried convincing her to have sex with him, but she refused.

“He left and the man (alleged rapist) came into the bedroom and forced himself on her.

“For months, her daughter had been distant and cried a lot,” she said.

“I had a feeling that she may have been raped, but I was not sure. When her friend told me what had happened, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place,” the mother added, with tears welling up.

The man appeared briefly in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The case was postponed for the sixth time to next month.

According to the charge sheet, which The Star has seen, the man has been charged with a count of rape, and is out on bail of R3 000.

The girl’s mother and father, who is the MEC’s son, are facing a counter-charge of common assault, following an altercation in court recently.

A handful of ANC Women’s League Zone 13 members protested outside the court.

“Real men protect women and children,” their placards read, while they chanted slogans denouncing woman abuse.

ANCWL member Deborah Francisco said: “We are tired of the rape of women and children. We are tired of their killings. We are here to support the mother of the child, and to send a strong message to rapists that they have no place in society.

“Celebrities tend to commit crime and think they can get away with it. They must know that they are not above the law,” she added.

Son of Orlando Pirates legend out on bail of R3 000