Sangoma jailed for rape
2006-11-28 11:00
Nelspruit - A sangoma who raped a nine-year-old girl and left her wandering in the streets the whole night can thank his ancestors that he got off relatively lightly.
The Nelspruit circuit of the Pretoria High Court sentenced Elmon Dukani Ngomane, 59, of Tekatakho near White River, to ten years in jail on Monday, instead of the maximum sentence of life.
He raped the girl on March 23 last year when her father left her overnight at Ngomane's house so that he could treat her stomach pain.
When her father left at around 21:00, Ngomane ordered her to go to bed. He undressed and climbed naked into bed with her, saying it was part of a custom to get the ancestors to bless her.
He then raped her and chased her away, forcing her to wander the streets until a woman came to her rescue the next morning and took her to the police station as a "lost" child.
She told the police what happened and they arrested Ngomane, who was a well-known sangoma in the area.
He has been in custody since he was arrested and pleaded not guilty, saying his ancestors would have cursed him if he had done such a thing.
When passing sentence, Judge Nico Coetzee said Ngomane was an embarrassment to honest, hard-working healers.