Africa-Press – South-Africa. The father of a girl allegedly raped by a Gauteng ANC ward official shared his anger at missing “warning signs” that his 16-year-old daughter had been attacked.
A 34-year-old ANC secretary in a ward north of Johannesburg faces charges of rape after he allegedly raped the pupil on 14 October and gave her R100 to buy her silence.
The alleged rapist appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The victim’s father, who cannot be named to protect his daughter’s identity, could not bear the sight of the accused and remained outside the courtroom until the proceedings concluded.
The father told News24 that he was shocked and disappointed to learn that a man he trusted, a prominent figure in the community, had allegedly taken advantage of his daughter.
“I had so much respect for him. He was like a friend. He would always come to my house and now he has made a fool of me. My wife now thinks I have sent out my friends to come to do this to our daughter,” the father said.
The father said he only found out about the incident when his daughter confided in him on her birthday, a month after the ordeal.
“She told me this while we were in town looking for a gift for her. She said if I didn’t believe her, I should ask her teachers. When I went to the school, they confirmed it.”
He said teachers picked up signs that the girl might have been distressed, and after their investigation, the child confided that she had been raped.
He said the school hadn’t told the parents, which made him angry. He was also angry that he had missed the “warning signs” that something terrible had happened to his daughter.
The father said:
He said the several times he asked his daughter why she never told him what had happened, her response to him was, “I was scared you would fight him because you know him.”
When the alleged perpetrator was arrested on 2 December, the father said he went to the police station and pleaded with the officials to speak to him.
“I wanted to know why he did it, but he denied doing anything to my daughter… I got so angry the police chased me out of the police station,” the father said.
Meanwhile, the matter was rolled over to 12 December for further investigation and a formal bail application.
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