A 15-year-old gr. 8 learner from N’wanati High School in Makuleke village outside Malamulele was raped and robbed of her pocket money on her way to school on Tuesday morning.
The girl was on her way to school to write a midterm examination when she was confronted by an unknown man who emerged from the bushes.
The man grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the veld where he raped her repeatedly.
“He produced a knife and dragged me into the bushes. I asked him what he wanted from me and he told me that he wanted to have sex with me. He said if I resisted, he was going to stab me to death,” she explained.
“I refused, but he insisted and hit me in the face with the knife in his hand. Then he took off my pants and began raping me. When I screamed he hit me again and threatened to kill me if I continued to scream,” she said.
She said her terrifying ordeal lasted for about 30 minutes before the rapist fled with her pocket money.
“When he was done he took the R10 note from my pocket and left,” she said.
She said she tried to compose herself after the rapist left and continued on her way to school where she reported what had happened to her teacher, who called the police.
Her mother said she broke down and cried when she heard that her daughter had been raped. “I can’t come to terms with what has happened,” she said.
“I fail to understand how someone could be so cruel as to rape my only daughter,” she continued, adding that this would negatively affect her daughter’s exam results.
“I don’t know how my daughter is going to survive this ordeal,” she said.
She appealed to the police to find the rapist and “put him in jail for life”.
Saselamani police spokesperson, WO Sam Matsimbi, said no arrest had been made as yet and the police were still investigating the matter. “We are working around the clock to ensure that the culprit is brought to book,” he said.
Matsimbi said people should try to walk in groups, the larger the better, as this reduced the chance of them being attacked.
