Protests as rape, murder suspects seek bail
An alleged child rapist and a man accused of killing his girlfriend both abandoned their bail bids as angry community members protested outside the Port Alfred courthouse.
|||Port Elizabeth – A 43-year-old man charged with raping an 11-year-old girl, and a 28-year-old man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend, both abandoned their bid for bail in the Port Alfred Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
More than 150 community members, among them a local pastor and a political leader, protested outside the court demanding that the court refuses the two men bail.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Luvuyo Mjekula, said the protesters called for stiffer sentences for perpetrators of crime, particularly those committed against women and children.
“In the rape case, it is alleged that the accused man raped his girlfriend’s daughter on separate occasions in December 2015 and February 2016 in Nemato, a suburb of Port Alfred. However, the crime was only discovered on 9 March this year after it was discovered the girl was pregnant,” said Mjekula.
The man charged with murder, Phumlani Mamani, allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death in Nemato last week. The body of the 20-year-old woman was found near a stream by a passerby.
“It is alleged that the deceased had been walking with her friends, when they came across Mamani. He allegedly forced her to walk with him after he allegedly stabbed one of her friends and threatened another.”
Appearing immediately after one another, both men informed the court that they no longer had interest in applying for bail.
Magistrate Xolile Dlulisa postponed both cases to April 28 for further investigation.
The state is still awaiting DNA test results of both men.
Meanwhile, Ndlambe Municipality Speaker, Vivienne Maphaphu, who had joined the protest in support of the victims’ families, said she was encouraged by the local men and women who voiced their anger towards the accused.
“We also want to help rescue the perpetrators from themselves,” said Maphaphu.
African News Agency
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