Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo
11 February 2024
A 26-year-old man appeared in court after being arrested for allegedly raping a 02-year-old girl at Elukwatini.
It is alleged that the suspect lured the toddler who was going to a tuckshop into an abandoned and unused old house in Nhlazatshe near Elukwatini.
It is said that the grandmother of the girl heard a passer-by making some noise, indicating that there was a young girl who seems to have been attacked and was bleeding.
Fortunately, the said man was reportedly seen earlier with the little girl, heading towards the direction of where the incident is alleged to have taken place.
Members of the community then embarked on a manhunt and it was not long before they reportedly found the man nearby, drinking some alcoholic beverages. It was during this time when he was apprehended by members of the public. It is further indicated that the man somehow sustained some injuries during this time as a scuffle broke out between him and the people that cornered him.
Police were notified and the suspect was arrested and charged for rape.
During his appearance at the Chief Albert Luthuli Magistrate’s Court (formerly known as Eerstehoek Magistrate’s Court) on Friday, 07 February 2025, the case was postponed to 12 February 2025. Meanwhile the suspect remains in custody until his next court appearance.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General (Dr.) Zeph Mkhwanazi commended members of the public for assisting in cornering the suspect. “We are very much concerned about the incidents of rape whereby children were targeted. Adults should protect the little ones as children are the future of our country. We hope that justice will be served for the little child, ” said the General.
