A MAN who raped his niece on more than five occasions was handed a life sentence by Magistrate Sylvia Mkhulisi in the Izingolweni Regional Court this week.
The relative (42), who lived in the same house as the young girl (10), pleaded not guilty to the rapes during 2009.
The girl reported the first incident to her grandmother, who said she must not report it, as it was her son.
And, so the child continued to be raped.
One day, when the grandmother went to receive the child’s welfare grant, the girl asked her for money to buy sweets. When the grandmother refused, she rebelled, and her uncle hit her, saying she was not being respectful to his mother.
Tired of the ongoing abuse, the child informed her aunts of the rapes, who, in turn, reported it to the police.
The uncle was arrested shortly afterwards.
Prior to the uncle being sentenced, the case was provisionally withdrawn and he was sent for mental observation at Fort Napier Hospital.
When reports revealed he was fit to stand trial, the case was put back on the court’s role.
Last year, the man, who claimed he suffered from diabetes, fell sick, and had his leg amputated.
He was later released on bail, after his attorney bought a new-facts bail application to court.
The child’s grandmother had submitted a statement to police stating that the child had informed her of the rape.
However, the grandmother refused to be a state witness, and as a result, became a witness for the defence.
In the dock, she denied her statement, and accused the police of writing a statement she never gave.
The result was that the policemen, who had taken her statement, had to testify in court to verify her statement.
Sergeant Lucas Sbonelo Mzila from the Margate Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit investigated the case and was instrumental in securing such a conviction, along with senior state prosecutor, Rubeun Judnarain.
Her grama to mst be arested for hydind the evidence