Rape survivor recounts horror

2004-06-02 15:29

Pretoria - A 17-year-old girl, the sole survivor of a rape and murder rampage, told the Temba Circuit High Court on Wednesday she saw her rapist callously shoot a one-year-old baby after raping the baby's mother.

The girl, who testified in camera, said baby Kayla Rawstone gurgled as blood poured from her mouth before William Kekana, 19, "finished her off" with a bullet to the chest.

Kekana has changed his original plea of not guilty to guilty on 10 of the 14 counts against him, including that of raping and attempting to murder a 17-year-old teenager who is now the only eye witness. He also confessed to kidnapping the family and the 17-year-old.

Kekana was arrested on August 13, 2003, for the hijacking and abduction of Kayla, her mother Janine Drennen and grandmother Hester Rawstone after Kayla's first birthday party in Sunnyside, Pretoria.

Raped twice

The 17-year-old's testimony was taken on Tuesday and related in part to reporters by State advocate Dewald Reynierse on Wednesday.

The girl described how she and Drennen had both been raped by Kekana and his co-accused Fido Baloyi, who was shot dead while police tried to arrest him.

Reynierse said the witness related that she and her boyfriend, who also may not be named, had been on their way back from a friend's house where she had wanted to collect a book for homework.

He said the girl told the court that she and her boyfriend saw a car approaching and it stopped. Kekana jumped out and pointed a gun at them, he said.

The girl was ordered into the back seat of the car.

She saw Drennen, who used sign language to tell her that she had already been shot in the leg and they were going to be killed.

Toddler 'crying hysterically'

Their abductors drove to an open veld area and ordered the two women out of the car.

Kayla was "crying hysterically" in her car seat.

The two were ordered to undress.

She described how they took off their pants and underwear after which she was taken by Kekana to the back of the car and ordered to hold onto the boot.

The girl said Drennen was taken by Baloyi to the front passenger seat of the car and raped after which the men swapped women and she was raped by Baloyi in the front seat.

The witness said she could not confirm that "the white lady" was raped by Kekana.

After the second rape, the witness said Kekana ordered Baloyi to move away from "the white lady" who was holding her baby, and then he shot her once.

She said Baloyi then went to the baby and shot her in the face. After that both men shot at the "white lady" randomly until she fell to the ground silent.

Shot in the head

Kekana then went to the baby, who was still making noises, and shot her in the chest.

The witness was then ordered to lie on the ground on her back. She described how Kekana then shot her in the head.

"The accused asked her if she was still alive but she remained silent," Reynierse said.

The attackers then drove off.

The girl said she then got dressed and walked to her boyfriend's house from where she called the police.

She was treated in hospital, but still has a bullet embedded in her face.

Acting for the defence, Advocate Janus Roothman, said his client had agreed to planning the attack, but had wanted to back out after Drennen was shot in the back of the car for answering her phone.

He told the court that he was then shot in the knee by Baloyi, threatening him to co-operate.

The witness agreed that Kekana was limping before she was raped.

- SAPA