Church elder in court on charge that he raped girl (14)

A man from Mukula village appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court late Monday afternoon (22 January) for allegedly raping and impregnating a 14-year-old orphan.

Mukosi is a street hawker who sells cheap CDs, known as Ama 10-10, in front of a well-known supermarket in Thohoyandou, and is also said to be a church elder at Mukula village.

The victim is said to be the daughter of a close family member of Mukosi who had passed away. The girl’s mother had also passed away and she and her siblings have been depending on Mukosi for support. Mukosi has allegedly been raping the girl since 2022 when she was only 12 years old. She became pregnant that same year and gave birth in 2023 at the age of 13.

The accused man caused some drama in the courtroom during his appearance on Monday when he refused to let journalists take his picture, turning around and around. Some of the people sitting in the public gallery were amazed by Mukosi’s silly antics, while the situation seemed to anger others, who were whispering that the public had the right to see him as he was accused of a very heinous crime.

After the hearing, a reliable source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the media that the raped girl and her brother were living in abject poverty. “The two orphans receive social grants, but the money is used by Mukosi and his siblings, while the two orphans have to beg for hand-outs from members of the community to survive. Even her child doesn’t have clothes.” 

When asked why no one had reported the children’s situation to the police or social workers, the source said they were all afraid of Mukosi’s family members. “Mukosi has 10 siblings, and they are all very rough. That is why I don’t want you to mention my name. I don’t want to die young,” the source said.

The case was postponed to Monday, 29 January, for a bail hearing.

Date:26 January 2024

By: Victor Mukwevho

Victor Mukwevho Ne-vumbani joined the Mirror during it's inception in 1990. He joined the SABC newsroom in 1995, and was known by  listeners as "A u fhedzisela ari". He was a news editor for The Tembisan Newspaper from 2007 to 2015. He rejoined the Limpopo Mirror newspaper in June 2022 as a freelance journalist.

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