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By Baldwin Ndaba 
4h ago
Johannesburg – The Joburg city ANC councilor charged with rape was released on bail 30 minutes after his first appearance at Wynberg Regional Court on Monday.
The defendant, who in terms of the Sexual Offenses Law cannot be identified until he has presented his statement, appeared very calm in court. He left the holding cells with leg shackles to confront the prosecutor, who was expected to object to bail as the case was a List 5 crime.
A List 5 crime carries a minimum sentence of 10 to 20 years, but the defendant did not appear to flinch when the magistrate, Gideon Schnetler, explained the seriousness of the charge against him.
State Attorney Ayanda Bakana said the investigating officer had confirmed the address of the defendants. Bakana also said that the defendant had no prior convictions or pending cases against him.
The prosecution chose not to oppose the bail.
Describing the nature of the allegations against the defendant, Bakana said: “The victim alleges that he visited his friend (the defendant) on Christmas Day in Alexandra. He said the crime occurred at dawn on December 26. Later that day, the accused and his friend took her to their place of residence in Tembisa.
“The next day, he went for a medical observation and was given the J88 (medical certificate) form. She only reported the case on December 28, ”Bakana said.
This led Schnetler to ask the prosecution if the victim had given any explanation for the delay in reporting the criminal case. Bakana said no.
He was adamant that the state, despite accepting bail, had a strong case against the defendants.
The case was postponed until February 22.
Off the pitch, two factions of the ANC in Joburg were out of their ranks. One group supported the defendants, primarily members of the ANC Youth League, and the others who supported the victim were from the ANC Women’s League led by their Joburg regional president, Ndivhuwo Sekoba.
Video: Nokuthula Mbatha / African News Agency
Members of the League of Women insisted that the court should not release the defendants on bail and said incidents of gender-based violence were increasing in Joburg and the country.
But the Youth League was adamant that the charges against its former leader were politically motivated and claimed that certain leaders within Joburg’s ANC leadership had orchestrated the charges.
The members of ANCYL began singing and mocking the members of the Women’s League after the defendant was released on bail.
Political Bureau
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