Topic: Rapist behind bars for life

Sbusiso Zwane

The Madadeni Regional court recently sentenced a 33 years old man to life imprisonment for raping of a 17 year girl. Prior to the incident, the man befriended the girl’s mother, pretending to be a traditional healer. From his frequent visits to them, he realized that the girl is often sick and taken to hospital. He suggested to the mother that he can heal the girl with his traditional medicine so she did not need to go to the hospital. Her mother agreed to the proposal.

On the afternoon of the incident, he fetched the girl from her home telling her mother that he is taking the girl to the river for a cleansing ritual followed by a prayer meeting with the other congregants. The girl went with him. However, he took her to his house under the guise of waiting for the other congregants to arrive.

There he forcefully undressed her and raped her twice and released her in the early hours of the following morning. The girl immediately reported him to her sister and mother, and the matter was then reported to the police.

The girl was taken to the Madadeni Thuthuzela Care centre where she received medical and psycho-social assistance. The man was arrested shortly.

In court, Regional court prosecutor, Scelo Simphiwe Hlela led the testimonies of the girl, her mother and her sister to whom the matter was first reported to and the medical doctor. Hlela further submitted a Victim impact statement compiled by the girl and facilitated by court preparation officer, Masande Mdiya.

In her statement, the girl said that the incident left her traumatized and embarrassed with psychological scars. She said that she had been a virgin and that was her pride as a young girl. The man was thus sentence to life imprisonment.

Traditionally when a male traditional healer does rituals, it is a must to ask a women to do that and same to female healers. Parents should also not let their children go for rituals or prayer without supervision. They must know the kind of assistance their children receive. There are also bogus traditional healers which not only damage the reputation of traditional healers but makes people to be scared to consult.  Traditional healers belong to different organizations and it is a good thing to check before one brings a snake into his household.