Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members came out in their numbers to attend the trial of self-confessed rapist Nicholas Ninow in the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.
EFF Gauteng chairperson Mandisa Mashego, along with other activists, attended the closing arguments to Ninow’s trial for raping a seven-year-old in September last year at a Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria.
The EFF made it clear they wanted the harshest sentence possible for the crime. The court has adjourned and a ruling is expected on Monday.
Ninow has pleaded guilty to rape, but the state has rejected his version of it due to inconsistencies that began to emerge after the victim testified on Wednesday on the sequence in which the events that took place.
This week, eight witnesses provided horrific testimonies of the day of the rape. The mother to the seven-year-old, who was the last to testify, recounted the moments after finding her daughter in the toilet with Ninow.
She detailed how Ninow allegedly used her daughter’s clothes to wipe his private parts.
Civil rights group Not In My Name has also weighed in to provide support to the victim’s family, and are hoping for a life sentence for Ninow.
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