Ama2k boy rapes his 93-year-old grandmother in the middle of the night in Esigodini: Community Shocked

A 21-YEAR-OLD Esigodini man has been sentenced to an effective 20 years in jail for raping his 93-year-old grandmother in the middle of the night.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the complainant, was convicted of rape by Gwanda regional magistrate, Ms Sithembiso Ndebele.

In her ruling, Ms Ndebele said the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“The State has managed to present its case, thereby putting you at the scene of the crime. No explanation has been presented to the court on why the complainant and her elderly neighbour could have fabricated these allegations against you,” she said.

“What is worse is that the accused person committed the offence under aggravating circumstances, where he pushed the complainant to the floor and raped her. The complainant is an elderly person and your grandmother, which means such actions were not expected from you.”

Ms Ndebele said the accused deserved a lengthy prison term.

“A deterrent sentence is called for so that it serves as a lesson to like-minded people who go around prowling on elderly people,” she said.

Prosecuting, Ms Zanele Sithole said the accused raped his grandmother on July 6 at around 10PM after invading her home.

She said after committing the offence, the accused fled the scene, but villagers tracked him down and handed him over to the police.

“On July 6 at around 10PM, the complainant was sleeping alone in her bedroom hut when the accused person knocked on the door. He identified himself and instructed the complainant to open,” said Ms Sithole.

The complainant opened and asked him why he had come to her homestead at such an hour.

“The accused person did not respond but grabbed the complainant, pushed her to the floor and raped her. The complainant screamed for help and was heard by a neighbour,” said Ms Sithole.

The court heard that the neighbour alerted other villagers and they rushed to the homestead but the accused fled upon seeing them.

Ms Sithole said the villagers pursued him and recovered a hat he dropped while running. They continued tracking him using his footprints until they caught up with him and apprehended him.