'I just sat on the floor'

2007-08-03 10:21

Nivashni Nair

Scottburgh - An 18-year-old first year law student on Thursday told the Scottburgh High Court that he was terrified and tried to look away when his two older sisters were being raped in Pennington last December.

The teen, whose name cannot be revealed to protect the identities of his sisters, mentioned the rapes twice in his testimony and seemed tense when asked about the sexual violation of his 20-year-old and 22-year-old sisters.

"I just sat on the floor and tried to look away. I felt terrified because they are my sisters," he said.

Unlike the three rape victims, who testified in the past two days, the boy constantly looked at Mthokozisi Innocent Mbambo, 29, Sithembiso Joseph Shelembe, 23, and Wonder Wiseman Mchunu, 26, who are standing trial for rape and robbery. The boy, dressed in khaki shorts and a golf shirt, told the court that he could not do anything to protect his sisters because he and his 20-year-old sister's boyfriend were forced to sit on the floor and a gun was pointed at them.

He said the three men attacked them while they were having a braai at his sister's best friend's rented home in Pennington. "This has had a traumatic effect on me. I realised that you can't even have a nice braai at your own home without having to look over your shoulder. I don't even feel safe anymore," he said.

Earlier his 20-year-old sister told the court that her boyfriend and brother were taunted by the accused during the rapes. "They asked: 'Do you like what you see?'," she said. She told the court that her 1,84 metre-tall rugby player boyfriend could not stand up to the three accused as a gun was pointed at him.

'I couldn't breathe'

She said after her best friend and sister were ordered to expose their private parts to Shelembe, she was told to sit on the bed and pull down her bikini bottom. He touched her and tried to kiss her. "I turned my head away, he forced my head back in his direction and started to kiss me," she said.

The dark-haired girl told the court that while her best friend was being raped, Mbambo pushed her on to the bed and started to take of her bikini bottom, which she had put on after Shelembe had violated her.

"I started crying and I couldn't breathe. Accused one (Shelembe) then came and said that if I continued to make a noise he will blow my head off. I just closed my eyes and tried to calm myself," she said.

She said that because she kept her eyes closed she could not tell the court whether it was Shelembe of Mbambo who then raped her. "I then went and sat on the floor in the corner while Shelembe raped my sister," she said.

She told the court that a short while later, Mchunu, who had been busy braaing their meat, came in and forced her to lie on the floor. "I was sitting and then he pulled my legs so that I was lying. He also had a gun and he told me to do what he said. He then removed my bikini bottom, which I had put on again and he had full sexual intercourse with me. It was while accused one (Shelembe) was raping my friend again," she said.

Brother forced to eat braai

The girl told the court that when her brother refused to eat the meat that Mbambo and Mchunu had braaied, he was asked if he thought he was too good to eat from them. Her brother, fearing for his life, then ate the piece of boerewors that was given to him.

The girl, who is currently a student, told the court that she and her boyfriend are still together, but the attack has had a "big effect" on her life.

"It had made me uncertain of myself and I am scared a lot. I'm always expecting something bad to happen. When I am walking down the road I just expect someone to jump out of the bushes or even when I am at home I just expect something bad to happen. It has affected my relationships with both men and women. I am not comfortable enough to make new friends because I do not want them to know me," she said.

The trial continues.

- The Witness