Alleged rapist’s shack is burnt down by public
The enraged residents had converged on the man's house - just few metres from his alleged victim's home - baying for his blood.
EMJINDINI – Last Sunday angry community members of Emjindini set fire to a house of a 50-year-old suspect who allegedly raped a three-year-old child.
Eyewitnesses said, had the police failed to respond in time, the alleged rapist, Raymond Nkosi (50) would have been the one set alight. Nkosi was said to have endured more than an hour of beating before concerned residents called law enforcement to rescue him.
Officers were believed to have arrived at the scene seconds before he was about to be locked in his wooden shack and set on fire, following the angry mob’s consensus.
The enraged residents had converged on the man’s house – just few metres from his alleged victim’s home – baying for his blood.
Const Tutu Nkosi, Barberton police spokesman confirmed an incident of rape but said no case of arson has been opened. She said the suspect was arrested after police received a complaint that community members had accosted him.
“He was arrested on Sunday and charged with rape. The matter is currently being handled by the Nelspruit Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit,” said Nkosi.
She said the child, who couldn’t be named to protect her identity, was still in a critical condition at Barberton General Hospital on September 6. She had been admitted with blood streaming from her ears.
The alleged rapist first appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court on Monday September 2 and was denied bail.
