Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 46-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man has been sentenced to life plus five years in prison after he raped his partner’s 5-year-old grandchild in Umhlasini, Durban, when he knew he was HIV positive.
The man was jailed for rape and attempted murder.
KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the man raped the child on multiple occasions in 2021 and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The child lived with her grandmother at the time.
“The man raped the child on several occasions (when the granny was either asleep or out of the house running errands) and threatened to kill her if she told anyone,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
On one occasion, she said, the grandmother walked in on him while he was raping the child.
“She noticed that he had not used protection either. She confronted him about what was happening, but he denied anything and locked all the doors, keeping them inside.
“He even took away the granny’s cellphone, thus rendering her helpless. During this time, the child told her granny that she had been raped several times before,” Ramkisson-Kara.
The following morning, she added, the man returned the house keys and cellphone to the grandmother and went to work.
The matter was reported to the police and the child’s mother was notified.
The child was taken to the Phoenix Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), where she received the necessary psycho-social services, counselling, and support.
The man was arrested and during the trial, State advocate Ishara Sewnarayan presented the court with the testimony of the child, her grandmother, and a doctor from the TCC.
Sewnarayan also handed in a victim impact statement which detailed the effects the incident had on the child.
“The man was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, and five years’ imprisonment for attempted murder as he had unprotected sex with the child, knowing that he was HIV positive.
“Further, the court deemed him unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
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