Rapist freed on R50 bail
2004-12-20 14:08
Durban - A man convicted on a rape charge walked out of custody in Durban
on Monday on bail of R50, after serving three years of a 10-year
sentence.
The Durban High Court granted Zwelakhe Abednico Luthuli leave to
appeal, and for new evidence to be heard.
This followed the admission by his 19-year-old step-niece, who
was the alleged rape victim, that her evidence had been a lie, his
lawyer, Vassist Sewpal, told Sapa.
Her affidavit read that her mother - Luthuli's step-sister -
and two aunts had noticed her behaviour changed when she was 13 and
asked her whether she had a boyfriend, said Sewpal.
Her aunts then carried out a virginity test that showed she had
been sexually active.
Sewpal said that the niece had said that offering a name might
stop her from being beaten.
The SA Prisoners' Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr), which
had supported Luthuli, told Sapa it would seek legal advice to
establish whether someone who was jailed while innocent, should be
given back their job.
"We shall also demand some kind of compensation for him for the
time he spent in jail (if he wins his appeal against conviction),"
said KwaZulu-Natal Sapohr chair Derrick Mdluli.
The case is scheduled to come up in the Supreme Court of Appeal
in Bloemfontein pending the allocation of court date.
- SAPA