Dobsonville residents outside Roodepoort Magistrates court after suspects for the murder of Juliette Dakada, 61, who was beaten and stabbed to death and raped her 21-year-old granddaughter in their home in Dobsonville, Soweto, Johannesburg, 20 October 2020, appeared and the case was postponed to 26 October at Krugersdorp. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Dobsonville residents gathered in a protest outside the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, following the appearance of the suspects linked to the murder of 61-year-old Juliette Dakada.
In July this year, Dakada was sexually assaulted then stabbed to death by suspects who broke into her home in Soweto. The attackers also raped her 21-year-old granddaughter, Nomvula Dakada.
While the 61-year-old was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital, her granddaughter was discharged the same week.
Two men were arrested in connection with the incident, after an investigation was launched to apprehend the suspects according to Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters.
Meanwhile, Dudzile Makhanya – a Dobsonville resident – told The Citizen that the community members demanded justice for the 61-year-old and her granddaughter.
“We want justice for uMama Dakada. We live in fear in our own homes because she was raped and killed. As parents who have daughters, we no longer feel safe and our children are not safe.
“We plead with the state and the legal representatives to take charge and make the right decision so that we can be at peace,” she said.
Another community member, Koketso Poho, voiced his frustrations over the “lack of urgency” by the court after the case had been postponed multiple times.
“We are here to obviously express our anger at the system and at the court for the lack of urgency with regards to this case. I mean it has been postponed many times.
“We are here to say that we are tired of rapists being released on bail. We are tired of perpetrators going back to the same community as their victims and we are tired of the police losing dockets along the way.
“A life has been lost and souls have been traumatised so we are here to say that enough is enough,” he said.
The accused – Aaron Mweba, 41 and Nkosinathi Gqoba, 51 – face charges of murder, two counts of rape, housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The two remain in custody after their case was postponed to 26 October.
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