The Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court heard that a 39-year-old man hid in the ceiling of a house to evade police, who had come to arrest him on charges of allegedly raping his landlord’s daughters.

The man, arrested in KaMagugu near Mbombela, appeared before Magistrate Patrick Morris on Tuesday, December 9, to continue his bail application. He was remanded in custody pending his next court appearance on December 19, for the bail judgment.

The investigating officer, Sergeant Solly Mabuza of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, opposed bail.

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Mabuza told the court that the accused had previously been arrested in 2021 for allegedly raping his biological four-year-old daughter. That case was later withdrawn because the child was too young to give evidence in the Nelspruit Regional Court at the time.

When asked by the prosecutor whether the accused had any assets, Mabuza said he had no knowledge of any.

He added, however, that he had been informed the accused was in possession of a passport, although he had not seen it himself.

“The accused has relatives in Mozambique, but I am not aware of any recent visits to his cousin there. He also has relatives on a farm near Rocky’s Drift, which is difficult to access,” said Mabuza.

He explained that arresting the accused was challenging because he was uncooperative. On the day of his arrest, he hid in the ceiling. The accused’s mother also made the arrest more difficult by locking the gate and releasing vicious dogs, forcing police to use a ladder to climb over the wall.

“Hiding in the ceiling shows that the accused is capable of evading court if granted bail,” said Mabuza.

Although the accused currently faces two charges of raping his landlord’s older daughters, additional charges involving their younger sibling may be added depending on the report from the social worker attending to her.

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One of the girls told their mother that the accused had sexually abused her and her siblings over time, giving them sweets, money, and flowers to keep them quiet.

The accused’s lawyer argued that exceptional circumstances existed for granting bail and asked the court not to consider the 2021 case, since the accused had not been convicted.