The Voice (Francistown)
Chenjelani Baraedi
15 April 2008
Francistown — A good festive baby naming ceremony turned into a nightmare for a 64-year-old Matshelagabedi granny, when she was raped a by a local man while on her way home.
The rapist, who had also attended the ceremony, allegedly lay in wait for the old woman in the bush, where he pounced and dragged her into an abandoned house and raped her. The granny's son-in-law, who on being alerted of the crime, rushed to the scene only to find the man who had spent the whole day feasting with them, on top of the defenseless woman.
Relating the tragic event to The Voice, the man (whose name is withheld to protect the identity of the granny) explained, "My mother-in-law had just left our house after a child naming ceremony when we heard a scream from the nearby bushes."
In the company of other people who had attended the ceremony, the 22-year-old man rushed to the scene only to find a local elder on top of her mother-in-law with his pants down.
"Although I was shocked and embarrassed by what I was seeing, I managed to leap on to the rapist and detached him from the old woman who was screaming for help. Before I could ask as to what the rapist was up to, the man quickly pulled up his trousers and took on his heels at high speed," said the man.
The father of two said that with the help of the members of the public they managed to pursue the rapist until they nabbed him before he could disappear in the darkness of the night. He revealed that angry members of the public then took the law into their hands and beat up the accused.
The rapist's wife, armed with a sjambok, was part of the mob. "The rapist's wife who had also attended the ceremony whipped his husband until he bled."
The young man, who also sustained injuries while chasing the suspect, pointed out that both the accused and the victim had been drinking together at the ceremony.
The victim's daughter also witnessed the goings-on and said. "I never joined the mob which attacked the suspect because I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
A neighbour, who also rushed to the scene, said the suspect claimed that the woman had consented to the sexual act. "He told us that the woman consented to sex, but was shocked when she started screaming. In fact, he claimed that when the woman started screaming, he thought maybe she was enjoying the whole act."
Matsiloje police station commander, Booker Osupile, confirmed the incident and revealed that members of the public arrested the accused before calling the police. He said the accused, together with the victim, were taken to the hospital for medical check up and released the following day.
Superintendent Osupile said the 59-year-old suspect would appear in court shortly after the police had finished their investigations.
He also thanked the members of the public for their vigilant support in fighting crime.
"Crime prevention is not for the police alone and I am very happy to see residents of Matshelagabedi doing all their best to fight crime. If it was not for their support the suspect could have easily disappeared unnoticed since the incident happened late in the evening."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Voice. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
