Case against KZN stepfather accused of rape postponed

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The case of a 43-year-old man, accused of the repeated rape of his two stepdaughters, has been postponed by the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court, on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.

The State requested that the matter be postponed for a new address verification and bail consideration. The accused is alleged to have committed the offences between 2019 and 2023.

The accused rapist appeared calm as he entered the dock at the court.

In the public gallery, some of his relatives waved at him. His two wives, the mothers of the two 17-year-old girls were supported by children’s right groups and activists.

The State is opposing bail. Addressing the media outside court, children’s rights activist Mildred Ngcobo from the Uthingo Child Centre, shared her concerns.

“It delays everything. Yes, we understand that the suspect is in custody. We also do understand that everybody has rights. And we ask and we are going to require the Department of Justice to set up their things. Maybe to do things proper so that we don’t have these delays. Such cases need to be quicker.”

Ngcobo has urged mothers and relatives to stop protecting child rapists.

“We are urging them to fight for the child’s rights. We are raising awareness almost every day. There is help even at police stations, there are social crime prevention at police stations. They can even refer you to organisations like ours so you can receive help. Relatives and mothers need to report these cases and stop protecting child abusers. This will help us to fight the scourge and for the Department of Justice to investigate accordingly.”

The accused will appear again on February 26th.

The State says it is also investigating allegations that one of the young girls was forced by the accused to have an abortion.