A 61-YEAR-OLD man from Matokolosi village under Chief Masuku in Esigodini appeared in court on Wednesday facing three counts of rape, after he allegedly forced himself onto his granddaughter.
Report by Albert Ncube
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, appeared before regional magistrate Mark Dzira and was remanded in custody to September 11.
Allegations against the man, as outlined by prosecutor Johannes Tlou, are that on June 25 2013 at around 1pm, he went to where the granddaughter stayed and found her with her brother in the kitchen hut.
He sent the brother to his homestead and asked to have sexual intercourse with his granddaughter, but she refused.
The accused then allegedly advanced towards the complainant, grabbed her, removed her clothes and raped her.
On June 26, at around 7am, the accused went to the minor’s home and found her cleaning the sitting room hut with her younger brother.
He ordered the sibling to go and clean behind the house.
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He grabbed the girl and pushed her down.
He then removed her clothes and raped her once.
The accused ordered her not to tell anyone about the incident.
On the third occasion, four days later at around 8am, the grandfather again visited his granddaughter and told her to accompany him to his homestead to collect a cellphone. She complied and while at the accused’s homestead, she was ordered by the grandfather to enter into the bedroom and collect the phone.
The grandfather followed behind, grabbed her and pushed her to the floor, before removing her clothes and raping her once. He then assaulted the niece with a switch and ordered her not to tell anyone about the incident.
The matter came to light when the girl narrated her ordeal at the hands of her grandfather to a neighbour.
When the accused got wind that he had been exposed, he forced his granddaughter to write a letter apologising to him for revealing the matter to the neighbour.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of the accused.
The man was remanded in custody to next Wednesday and advised to apply to the High Court for bail.
