Click here to read the latest: Charges withdrawn against Mandela’s grandson
Here are nine things you need to know about how the case has progressed thus far:
- Magistrate Pieter du Plessis identified the suspect as Mbuso Mandela when he appeared in court on 25 August last Year.
- The alleged rape of the 15-year-old girl took place at Mamma’s Shebeen, a restaurant in Greenside, on 7 August last year.
- Mandela pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail of R7 000. He has been under house arrest ever since.
- Du Plessis stated early on that the defence’s case would be that there was consent and that Mandela believed the girl was over the legal age.
- It was reported that the 24-year-old grandson of South Africa’s first post-apartheid president sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at a military medical facility in Centurion. This, however, has been denied by the South African National Defence Force.
- Security camera footage of the incident could not be obtained from the restaurant to be used in the case, as the alleged victim had waited a full week before reporting the matter, and the camera footage is only saved for a maximum of 120 hours, according to the restaurant owner.
- It was reported earlier that the father of the victim tried to open a case with police but, instead, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela requested that her family take some time to deal with the matter internally first. She promised to hand her grandson over to police and hold a press conference on the matter, neither of which materialised.
- Mandela’s affidavit to the court stated that he wanted to be tried as a normal person and not receive preferential treatment because of his family.
- Ward councillor Amanda Forsythe confirmed that underage drinking was a problem identified in the node, as well as several establishments operating as clubs on restaurant licences.
Click here to read how the case has unfolded so far.
