Elukwatini police arrested a 41-year-old Mozambican man for the alleged rape of his stepgranddaughter.
Jaime Carnero Oliveira was arrested last Friday at about 05:00. According to Serg Peace Mbokane, Elukwatin police spokesman, this was after his girlfriend reported that he had allegedly raped her nine-year-old granddaughter.
“Apparently, on the day of the alleged offence, the complainant was asleep in her RDP house and the suspect was watching television in their common room. She dozed off and the suspect tiptoed into the victim’s bedroom where he forced himself on her. Later on, the complainant awoke, only to find that her boyfriend was not in the room,” said Mbokane.
He said the complainant began looking for him and found him in the child’s room tucked in her bed with no clothes on. “The bewildered woman questioned the child as to what had happened and she told her in tears that the suspect had raped her. She further revealed that he had committed the indecent act on her twice in previous incidents. The grandmother then reported the suspect to the police and he was arrested,” continued Mbokane.
Oliveira appeared in the Eesterhoek Magistrate’s Court last Friday and was remanded in custody.
In a separate incident, a 26-year-old male was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Carolina Regional Court on April 6 for rape which he committed in April 2014.
Bongani Sunday Mahlangu (26) first appeared in the Badplaas Periodic Court on June 4 last year after allegations that he had raped a two-year-old baby who was left in the care of his grandmother at Badplaas, Dlamini D section.
Mbokane said the victim’s mother noticed that her daughter had been raped after she had complained of genital pain. The mother then noticed bruises and bleeding.
“She opened a case against the suspect but he couldn’t be immediately arrested since the child was unable to link him to the offence. Detective Const Mmeli Nkosi from the Elukwatini Unit investigated the case. He obtained DNA buccal samples from the suspect and exhibits from the victim and sent them to the forensic laboratory. After five months, the results came back positively linking the suspect to the crime. He was then sentenced. Nkosi has secured three other life sentences in his office as a detective since his arrival at Elukwatini,” concluded Mbokane.
The station commander of Elukwatini SAPS, Col Precious Mabuza, congratulated the members for ensuring the safety of women and children by bringing perpetrators to book. She also said she appreciated the detective for his patience and commitment while handling the case.
