Pretoria – The Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court has denied bail to a 27-year-old man who allegedly raped his 2-year-old niece.
Gauteng spokesperson for the NPA Lumka Mahanjana said it was alleged that on September 24, the child’s mother visited her mother’s house with two of her children.
During load shedding, at around 8pm, when the child’s mother and her son were washing dishes in the kitchen, the uncle allegedly took the little girl to his room and raped her.
“The mother heard the child cry and when she looked for the child, she was found (her) in the uncle’s room. It is alleged that the uncle threw the child on the ground, and while crying, she showed her mother where it was hurting. The following morning, the child was taken to the hospital where it was confirmed that indeed the child was raped,” said Mahanjana.
The mother reported the matter to the police and the uncle was arrested 4 days later, on September 29.
“In court, he asked to be released on bail due to ill health,” Mahanjana said.
However, the magistrate said there were no exceptional circumstances that warranted the accused being released on bail.
“Moreover, should the accused be released on bail, the safety of the victim and her mother might be compromised,” said Mahanjana.
The matter was postponed to December 13.
IOL