Angry Diepsloot residents have blasted a landlady for backing a 34-year-old Ethiopian man, who is accused of raping a seven-year-old inside his tuckshop and call for all foreign-owned tuckshops to be shut down.

The resident’s demands come after the Ethiopian man who owns a tuckshop allegedly raped a seven-year-old in his shop.

Last month IOL News reported that the man was arrested after he allegedly lured the girl and a boy, 10, into his shop with snacks, gave the boy R5 and told him to cover his face. Then he allegedly raped the girl.

The man appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s court on August 2, and the magistrate, Hleziphi Mkhasibe, postponed the cause to Tuesday, August 6, for a formal bail application.

Following the incident, residents have criticised the landlady who rented out a space in her yard to the accused man to run a tuckshop business, and accused her of supporting him despite the allegations of raping the minor.

One of those was, Tsholofelo Masemola who slammed landlady Esther Zwane, 67, for keeping the shop open and allowing the accused’s brothers to continue running it while the case is still active.

“What haunts me is that the shop is still open despite the horrific incident that occurred there, and justice has not been served yet. The landlady is very wrong because she should have closed the shop to show her commitment to seeing justice done.”

Masemola said that the man should be arrested and locked away for good, and demanded that all foreign-owned tuckshops be shut down.

“I truly hope he is brought to justice so he does not return to our area. We don’t want any of them staying here, they should all leave and go back to their countries," she said.

Responding to the allegations, landlady Esther Zwane denied any fault, claiming she didn’t know the shop was still open since she now lives in Riverside Township.

“I heard rumours the shop was closed, but I was shocked to find it open on July 29. The accused’s brothers told me other community members instructed them to keep it running,” she said.

Zwane said she was shocked when she first heard about the Ethiopian man allegedly raping a minor.

“I never thought he would do something like this, especially since he has always been so friendly with people and I have known him for eight years. I was completely shocked.”

She said that if the court finds him guilty, he must be sent behind bars.

“If you’re guilty, you should face the consequences, but the court will decide, as I am not the judge. If he is found guilty, he must be sentenced,” she said.

But outraged residents want to shut down all foreign-owned tuckshops, citing concerns for their children's safety.

“We don’t want them here and demand all their shops be shut down. Our kids are not safe as they run to these tuckshops with their money, and we can't tolerate people doing such horrible things to our children,” resident Phumzile Moloi said.

ActionSA’s PR councillor in the area, Steven Nkonyeni, said they demand the shutdown of all foreign-owned tuckshops, citing concerns that similar incidents could happen to local children.

IOL