A Nigerian man appeared for the second time in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on July 27, where he is facing charges of raping a nine-year-old girl in Gamalakhe, and for being in the country illegally.
At his first appearance on July 20, the case had to be postponed because he needed a translator to translate from English to Igbo, as he said he could not understand any South African language.
However, on Monday a translator was not present, but the magistrate explained his charges to him in English and he said he understood them.
The case was postponed to August 7 and he remains in custody.
According to the victim’s grandmother, she is disappointed with how things are being done in court as the family has no idea what is going on.
“We cannot even hear what is being said in court and no one explains anything to us as the family.”
The grandmother said that her granddaughter has returned to school, but is not coping and has reported to teachers that she is scared.
She added that the child’s mother is also traumatised by the incident and might need counselling as well.
A community member, Mpume Mbono, said the community is unhappy because there are still more illegal foreigners in Gamalakhe.
“There are a number of undocumented foreigners in Gamalakhe and this is not the first time where we have had this issue. We are here to support the family because we need to make sure that he is locked up because if he is released the community will take matters into their own hands, which is something we would not like to see.”
Mbono said the community wants the court to keep the accused in custody and not give him bail.
Chairperson of the ANC Women’s League in the Tolomane Mnyayiza Region, Dixie Nciki said the victim’s family cannot even hear the proceedings in court.
Nciki said they have to ask the court officials for details about the accused.
“We wish that the courts can do better by the victim’s family so that they do not feel victimised twice in a situation. Furthermore, we can also see that these gender-based violence cases are increasing by the day.”
Nciki added that it hurts to see the future of children being destroyed, especially by someone who is in South Africa illegally.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
