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(Photo: Getty Images / Gallo Images)
- The Bellville Magistrates Court sentenced Luzuko Kama to 15 years in prison after he raped a girl in the house next to hers.
- Luzuko managed to open her neighbor’s house and raped the eight-year-old girl while her grandmother was away.
- He denied having raped the girl, but offered money for transportation to take the girl to a doctor and to the police station.
The Bellville Magistrates Court sentenced Luzuko Kama to 15 years in prison for raping an eight-year-old girl.
According to the National Prosecutor’s Office (NPA), the girl was alone in her grandmother’s house on May 26, 2018, after the grandmother went to bake bread in a nearby house.
Kama, 24, was the son of the grandmother’s neighbor.
“When the grandmother returned home, she noticed a key in the door and knocked, thinking that it was her eldest son who had returned home,” NPA regional spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said in a statement.
She asked him how he got into the house and he responded by saying that he had his own key and suddenly left the house.
Ntabazalila said that the grandmother noticed that her granddaughter was still awake and asked why she was still awake at the time.
“The girl cried and told him that Kama had raped her,” he added.
He then took the boy to Kama’s house and confronted him, and he denied everything, but offered money for transportation to take the boy to a doctor and to the police station.
“He was later arrested, but presented a version, which was later rejected by the court,” Ntabazalila said.
After the victim, her grandmother and the doctor were called to testify, Kama was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years.
Prosecutor Yolanda Pretorius welcomed the sentence.
“The girl was assisted by the court preparation officer, Ms. Lindiwe Corry Mpama-Ngwevele before the trial, to ensure that she was calm and relaxed while giving testimony,” he said.
“She also obtained the victim impact statement that assisted the State, as the probation officer was unable to deliver a victim impact report. The importance of the work done by the court preparation officers cannot be emphasize enough on our success stories. “
