he Atlantis community has made a stand against incest and rape following a court case involving a 63-year-old man accused of raping his 36-year-old daughter since she was 12.
The man made his second appearance in the Atlantis Magistrate’s Court, where he is facing charges of rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, and indecent assault.
The State is set to prove that the former taxi and truck driver used his 36-year-old daughter as a “sex slave” since she was 12 years old, following the death of her mother.
He was granted bail of R1 000 last month.
Bail conditions do not prohibit him from residing in Atlantis, and he still lives inside the home he has owned for decades.
This week, political parties, activists and irate community members – both men and women – joined hands in unity against incest and called for a harsh sentence. They also demanded that the accused pay hefty bail, and that he be subject to strict bail conditions.
Last week, the man applied for an interdict against his daughter, claiming in the court papers that he feared for his life and was being falsely accused.
The matter has been set down for May.
This week, he was accompanied by a group of supporters, one of whom is believed to be his partner, when he made his appearance in court.
The court postponed the matter to May 12 for further investigations.
The man was dressed in a black jacket and appeared calm, avoiding eye contact with the community.
Outside the court, the group stood holding placards in the air and calling for an end to incest and rape.
The victim, who cannot be identified, said she had remained in court during her father’s appearance, and had felt stronger because of and was grateful for the support she had been given.
Her brother said they were tired of being manipulated by their father and were glad his sister had raised the alarm: “This is a whole tragedy, as everything is going in his direction, like the interdict. We are not a danger to him.
“He always made me feel that I am below him, and he made us all feel like that. He wanted to control us all.
“I tried to reach out to people beforehand about my sister, but nothing happened.
“I am glad my sister has spoken out, because we knew what was happening. But it is good that she is speaking out.”
Barbara Rass of the Atlantis Woman’s Movement for the Abused, who has been supporting the victim since she opened the case in February, said incest was a sickness and a sin that needed to end.
“We as a community are supporting one another. This is incest, and it is worse than stranger rape,” she said.
“Our community is uniting against incest and rape, as well as women and children abuse. An injury to one is an injury to all.
“Incest – to do that to your own flesh and blood – is a crime that is a sin, and we reject it in our community.”
Donay September, an activist and member of the African Restoration Alliance, said the justice system had already failed the woman: “When we were in court at his first appearance, we were disappointed because he walked out on R1 000 bail, and in that same court the magistrate asks people for up to R18 000 in bail for petty crimes.
“But for this man, who has been raping his child since the age of 12 years old until 36 years old, to walk (out of the court) on bail of R1 000 – that is an injustice alone, and how can we trust this court, and how must that victim feel?
Ashley Poole of the Good party said as men they were also uniting: “We need to stand together. When the perpetrators get bail, they come out and do the same crime, and they must get harsh sentences.”
Kavya Swaminathan, a clinical and counselling psychologist and the intervention supervisor for the Tears Foundation, said that in her professional opinion the case had all the hallmarks of “trauma bonding”, which refers to the attachment a victim or survivor of abuse feels towards his or her abuser.