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MBABANE - Two men aged 22 and 33 years, yesterday appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court charged with rape of minors on two different occasions.
They are Sibusiso Masinga (22) of Mnyokane and Bongumenzi Simelane (33) of Dalriach.
They both made their appearances before Acting Mbabane Principal Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati.
Masinga was charged with contravening Section 5 1 (2) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act of 2018. He is alleged to have raped a five-year-old minor.
Opposed
The Crown applied that the matter be allocated a date for trial and also indicated that it was not opposed to bail, should Masinga apply for same.
The accused applied that he be released on bail. Magistrate Vilakati granted Masinga bail fixed at E1 000.
Simelane is alleged to have had raped a 17-year-old minor.
The Crown submitted that the minor was exposed to sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS during the commission of the offence.
Simelane was remanded in custody until June 7, 2022 pending setting of trial date. The Court advised him to apply for bail at the High Court with transport. However, when asked about that arrangement, Dlamini stated that the Crown had not been providing lunch and transport recently. She in case he wished to do so.
Mlamuli Nkwanyana (27) of Phonjwane appeared in the same court, charged with theft of items valued at E936 from a shop belonging to Seth Mohammed at Sidwashini Industrial Site. The stolen items include Yum yum, Disprin, frame, Rizzler and Med-lemon, all valued at E936.
Nkwanyana pleaded guilty when the charge was put to him. However, when mitigating on the sentence, he pleaded for the court’s leniency, claiming that he only earned E500 where he was employed. He undertook not to commit a similar offence in future.
He was sentenced to five months imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E500.