Foreign national released as Kwa-Guqa rape case takes unexpected turn
The accused was expected to be appearing for his pre-trial, but ended up walking home as his case was provisionally withdrawn.
The case of an Ethiopian national accused of raping a 21-year-old man living with a disability took a different turn than what was expected; his pre-trial became his release.
Earlier today, the 35-year-old appeared in the eMalahleni Regional Court after his case was postponed on March 19. However, although he was expected to appear for pre-trial, he was released as his case was provisionally withdrawn.
All Voices Matter founder Abongile Mcoki, who had been supporting the family since the beginning of the case, expressed disappointment with the court’s decision.
“I’m not happy at all as we do not know the reasons as to why the case was withdrawn,” Mcoki said.
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The shop owner faced charges of allegedly raping the Kwa-Guqa young man living with disability, and had remained in custody as he was denied bail on December 11.
According to Mcoki, who also indicated that she is very close to the victim, she received his call on November 30 around 19:00, crying to her about the disturbing incident. She said the young man told her that the Ethiopian man called him to his store, closed the door, and allegedly raped him.
The case of an Ethiopian shop owner accused of raping a young man living with a disability in Kwa-Guqa has been postponed
— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) March 20, 2026
Read more here: https://t.co/p9B3CaXF4j#WitbankNews #emalahleni #WitbankMagistratesCourt #Rape #Disability pic.twitter.com/bqMzbfx2EY
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