Mandela grandson in court again

A grandson of South African struggle icon Nelson Mandela, appeared briefly in the Joburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a charge of rape. The matter was postponed to Monday.

The grandson, 24, is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in the bathroom of a restaurant in Greenside, Johannesburg, on August 7.

He was released in August on bail of R7 000.

He insisted in court papers submitted during his bail application that the sex was consensual.

But his accuser countered that he forcefully kissed her in a dark passage leading from the restaurant to the toilets, reached into her pants, and forced her to the ground before sexually assaulting her.

A chef who saw the kiss said in a written statement it was “intimate” and consensual, so he had no reason to be alarmed.

He said if the girl had screamed or struggled, as she claimed, he would certainly have heard it.

The defence claimed the girl had not only given an incorrect age on the night of the incident, but also used social media accounts to suggest she was older.

The grandson insisted in his affidavit that he couldn’t believe she was so young. She had said she was older than 18, and was drinking and smoking.

He also claimed she had “straddled” him as he sat in a chair in the restaurant.

His bail conditions were amended in September so that he could be treated for depression at One Military Hospital in Pretoria. He also has to report to the Lyttelton police station twice a week.