Child rape fireman still living in family complex
DESPITE a Northern Cape High Court ruling, which should have seen a registered sex offender evicted from a block of flats occupied by Kimberley’s firemen and their families, concerns have been raised about the safety of the children in the complex as convicted statutory rapist, Charles Ramosie, has still not moved out as he awaits the outcome of his appeal.
In May this year, Acting Judge Lawrence Lever gave Ramosie 30 days to leave the flat, which belongs to the Sol Plaatje Municipality, in Lyndhurst Road.
The local fireman was due to be relocated and transferred to Ritchie or Galeshewe, where there were no children or families living on the premises.
However, this has still not happened, with the spokesperson for the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Sello Matsie, confirming yesterday that Ramosie had appealed against the ruling.
This came after a two-year court battle to have him removed from the complex because he had been handed a three-year prison sentence, suspended for five years, while his name was also added to the register of sexual offenders in 2012.
Concerns were first raised when the housing committee, who were at the time aware of his conviction for statutory rape, approved his application to stay in the complex when he began working shifts as a fireman in October 2013.
This left residents outraged and fearful for their children’s safety, resulting in a meeting between the concerned families and the housing committee in February the following year.
In the interim, Ramosie had moved into the flat, which he is still occupying.
The municipality’s initial attempt to be granted an eviction order was unsuccessful, due to technicalities, resulting in the second application which saw Lever give Ramosie a month to vacate the flat, as of mid-May.
Meanwhile, Matsie said yesterday that the municipality was aware of the concerns but was not able to discuss an ongoing court case. “We will only be able to comment once this appeal is finalised,” he said.