Africa-Press – South-Africa. The family of 16-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a 34-year-old ANC secretary in a ward north of Johannesburg were fearful of how she would react after the accused was granted bail.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where he was granted R5 000 bail.
The magistrate, Neelan Karikan, said granting bail would be in the interest of justice. He said the accused would be expected to appear in court until the matter reached finality.
And, should he fail to do so, he would be kept in custody, and his bail money would be forfeited.
“The accused’s freedom is in his own hands,” Karikan said.
During the ruling, the magistrate said he had taken into account the arguments of both the lawyer and the prosecutor.
Karikan said he knew the accused was an influential person in the community and could influence investigations, but added that he was also aware the man was a father of three children, who were highly dependent on him as the breadwinner of the family.
As the accused’s supporters celebrated his release outside court, the organisation, Operation Dudula, and the family of the teenage girl were shocked.
“I am not okay. This was not fair,” the mother of the victim said.
The woman, at a loss for words, could not hold back her tears.
She told News24 she did not know how her daughter would react.
The chairperson of Operation Dudula in Etwatwa, Benoni, Cedric Moloko, said he was disappointed.
“This is an influential person, as we heard in court, who is also the member of a school governing body (SGB). He influenced the justice system to release him on bail, so he can go out there and participate as a [member] of the SGB, where our kids are…”
Pointing to the crowd of ANC supporters, Moloko said: “I have no hope in the justice system. [The accused] is a celebrity now, they are celebrating him for what he [allegedly] did.”
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