Dad forced to watch HIV+ rape
2008-05-13 21:16
Oris Mnisi and Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane
Bushbuckridge - An elderly man says he was beaten and forced to watch as an HIV-positive man raped his daughter for about four hours.
The 78-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, said the suspect was released on warning and then returned to rob him.
"That evil man came back for me because I reported him to the police. He took my cellphone and disappeared with it," he said.
He said the suspect had arrived at his house in Allandale in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, last Tuesday afternoon waving around his HIV test results and accused the old man's daughter of infecting him.
"He showed us the papers and told us that my daughter was his lover and that she had given him Aids.
He demanded that we produce her immediately as he wanted to have a word with her," said the elderly man.
Locked in the room
He said the family told the man that the woman was visiting relatives at MP Stream village, 18km away. The man left and later returned with the woman and asked for a room where they could sleep because they were tired.
The elderly man said the suspect followed him to his house where he allegedly locked him and his daughter in his room, apparently without other family members noticing.
"He dragged me across my bedroom and ordered me to watch as he stripped himself and my daughter naked and started to rape her. When I looked away, he punched me and smashed my radio cassette player," said the elderly man.
He said the man had repeatedly raped his daughter and then left at 01:45.
The elderly man reported the rape to police in the morning and the suspect was arrested on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and malicious damage to property.
The elderly man said police refused to let him open a rape case because they believed the suspect when he said he was having a relationship with the daughter.
Appeared on four charges
The elderly man said the suspect was released on warning and returned to his house on Wednesday evening and stole his cellphone.
He said he opened another case of robbery with the police.
The suspect appeared in Mhala Magistrate's Court for all four charges on Tuesday and the case was postponed for further police investigation.
Inspector Ralph Mhangana of Mhala police said he would investigate why a rape case was not registered.
- African Eye