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Members of the ANC in Mpumalanga were divided yesterday in front of the Nelspruit magistrates court, where the former member of the MEC and party provincial executive committee and his stepson received bail of 20,000 rand each for allegedly raping two minors.
The 48-year-old man is the father of twin daughters who were allegedly raped. The former MEC, whose membership in the ANC has been suspended, and his 26-year-old stepson were arrested on September 28 after the matter was reported to the police in July.
The accused cannot be named to protect the identity of minor victims.
Outside the court, around 100 members of the ANC from Matsulu, on the outskirts of Mbombela, where the MEC was born, they sang songs in support of the 48-year-old suspect.
Get up the time has come which means “get up, your time has come,” chanted the crowd when the MEC left the court after posting bail.
Malaki Magagula, a member of the group supporting the MEC, welcomed the granting of the bail.
“The court did the right thing and we are happy that they came out,” he told Sowetan Magagula, who is also a former MMC.
“The accusations have been raised by some politicians who want to see this leader of ours out and about. We are here to support him and he should know that he has our full support, ”Magagula said.
Outside of court shortly after posting bail, the MEC thanked the Matsulu community for their continued support.
“I thank the Matsulu community and the ANC members for their support,” said the former MEC.
However, the ANC Women’s League and the EFF sympathized in their support for the victims. The group also objected to bail.
The president of the ANC Women’s League in the province, Busi Shiba, said that regardless of the bail as a women’s league, they still support the victims.
“As the ANC women’s league we will continue to support the two girls and we want justice for them. We will continue to denounce gender violence. according to the resolution of our league. Gender violence is a second pandemic in the country after Covid-19, ”Shiba said.
EFF’s gender-based violence coordinator in Ehlanzeni, Carolina Mashego, said they were disappointed by the granting of bail.
“As women, we are very disappointed with the outcome of today’s bail sentence because it showed that you can rape and just get out of prison on bail,” Mashego said.
Dictating sentence yesterday, Judge Suzan Monaledi
ordered the defendants to surrender their passports to the state and report to the Nelspruit police station every Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
“Therefore, the defendants are ordered to adhere to the court order issued in the juvenile court that they must not contact the victims or interfere with the investigation. Know that if you do not meet the conditions, your freedom Bail will be confiscated from the state and an arrest warrant will be issued, ”Monaledi warned.
Defense attorney Mduduzi Nkosi asked the court to lower the bond against the stepson, arguing that he was unemployed and dependent on his stepfather.
However, the state’s attorney, Adv Cathy Mnisi, rejected the request, saying both defendants faced serious crimes.
The couple will appear in court again on November 20.
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