Pretoria - A 20-year-old suspect is set to appear before the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court on Monday, following the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Mpumalanga.
According to the victim’s mother, the teenager was sent to the shop on Thursday, before 8pm.
Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said it is alleged that the suspect, who is well known and trusted by the victim, accompanied her to the shop.
“It is said that on their way back, the suspect allegedly dragged the victim to a certain incomplete building where he raped her,” Mohlala narrated.
The matter was reported to the police, and the suspect was immediately arrested by police.
Provincial commissioner of police SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed the arrest and cautioned against gender-based violence.
“It is with great regret that there are men who still rape just a few days after the 16 days of activism for non-violence against women and children was held.
“We are glad that an arrest was made and we hope the law will take its course,” she said.
Earlier this month, a 47-year-old man, Patrick Mamakoko, accused of raping an 85-year-old pensioner in Mpumalanga’s Kgobokwane village, appeared before the Mdutjana Magistrate’s Court.
At the time, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga, Monica Nyuswa, said Mamakoko appeared in court, facing a charge of rape.
“It is alleged that on 26 November 2022, the accused broke into the victim’s house in Kgobokwane village, threatened her with a knife with his face covered with a balaclava and forcefully raped her. He then fled the scene with the victim’s cellphone,” said Nyuswa.
“The matter was reported to the police, and during the police investigation, the accused was found in possession of the victim’s cellphone and was arrested.”
IOL