MATSULU – Angry community members of Mkhwakhweni erupted in anger and assaulted an 80-year-old man who was accused of raping a three-year-old.
The suspect, Mr Jantji Maphanga, made his first appearance in the local Magistrate’s Court on Monday and is expected to appear today for bail application.
Some relatives of the suspect accused the police who arrived on the scene, of misusing their powers, and told Mpumalanga News that Maphanga was assaulted by police before they arrested him.
Mr Vusi Maphanga said,
“My grandfather was beaten and when police arrived, they assaulted him too before taking him to the police station. What they did is totally unacceptable. When my grandpa wanted to open a case against the police who assaulted him, they refused.”
Police communications officer
Const Tinkomotabo Khumalo said, “It’s true that we have arrested an elderly person for raping a girl child. It happened at Matsulu B. He is behind bars and will appear in court again today for bail application.”
Information at the police’s disposal stated that the elderly person called the child to his home when she was playing next door with her friends, and raped her.
Khumalo warned parents to ensure that their kids were safe. Children must not accept gifts from strangers or ask for lifts. On the allegations of the suspect being assaulted by police officers, Khumalo said,
“I can’t comment on that, we don’t know about it.”
