A 31 year old suspect was arrested on 17 October 2019, by the police in Maake outside Tzaneen for alleged rape of a 14 year old Primary School girl. The rape was reported by the victim’s mother.
The victim allegedly left home in the morning at about 07:00, to attend school but her mother met her along the road at about 08:00 and started questioning her why she was not at school. It then transpired that the victim went to the local spaza shop on her way to school and she was allegedly raped by the spaza shop owner who thereafter gave her R20.
The victim’s mother reported the matter to the police and the suspect was immediately arrested.
The rape sparked violence in the area in which community members went on the rampage, damaging and looting foreign owned shops. Public Order Police members were activated and the violence was later quelled.
The Provincial Commissioner of Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba has commended the members for the swift arrest of the suspect while also condemning the subsequent violence that erupted in the area.
The suspect is expected to appear in Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court on Monday 21 September 2019, on a charge of rape.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
