A man appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate‘s Court on Tuesday October 18 for allegedly raping his ex-girlfriend at Violetbank on Saturday October 15.
According to a provincial spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted by her ex-lover against whom she has a protection order.
“The victim alleges that on Saturday October 15 around 17:30 she was on her way to her aunt’s place when she met her ex-boyfriend on the way. She started running away from him as she was scared. He allegedly chased her with a panga in hand until he caught her. He allegedly dragged her to the nearby bush where he repeatedly raped her the whole night. He then released her the following morning, October 16 around 04:30.”
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Mohlala said a case of rape was registered at Bushbuckridge Police Station then assigned to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS).
“The female victim went to report the matter to the police and they responded swiftly to trace and arrest the suspect. We cannot rule out the possibility of adding more charges against the suspect in relation to the violating of the protection order,” concluded Mohlala.
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The case was postponed to Monday October 24 for formal bail application and he remains in custody.
The provincial commissioner of Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, has condemned the incident.
“I want to assure the public that police are working tirelessly to curb gender-based violence which is now regarded as a pandemic in the country. I further call on men who engage in such behaviour to stop such barbaric behaviour against women.”