NELSPRUIT – A witness was too afraid to testify in the presence of two men accused of a spate of armed robberies and rape when they appeared in court on Tuesday.
Mr Solomon Abraham Nkosi (26) and Mr Jimmy Nkhabela (27) appeared in the Regional Court on nine charges ranging from rape to armed robbery.
The men are accused of a spree of armed robberies and rapes in the White River and surrounding areas in 2011. Mr Moses Tivane (79) who was working as a gardener at one of the houses on a farm they allegedly robbed testified in court that he was too afraid of the accused and wished to have his evidence done in camera. The court was emptied for the witness.
The incident had occurred on February 7, 2011, at a house on a farm outside White River which a mother and her daughter, age 33, rented
The women and Tivane were allegedly held at gunpoint, tied up and robbed by the alleged suspects. The two women were then taken into the bedroom where the men then apparently instructed them to lie down on the bed.
According to prosecutor Ms Elise du Plessis, the men then apparently covered the mother’s face with clothes and proceeded to rape her daughter in front of her.
The three managed to call for help on a phone Tivane had hidden.
