Cape Town - A man has been convicted for raping his ex-girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter in the high court of the Eastern Cape Division, Gqeberha.
Convicted rapist, Xolani Nkewu, pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape against him where it was alleged that on October 26, 2020 he unlawfully and intentionally committed an act of sexual penetration without consent.
According to judgment handed down by Judge Avinash Govindjee, Nkewu had visited the home of his ex-girlfriend, cited as “N” in court papers, the mother of the complainant.
“He had previously been involved in a relationship with N but they had not been in contact for over a year. He had been consuming alcohol since early that afternoon. He conversed with N for between 30 and 45 minutes before falling asleep on a single-seat couch in the lounge. He awoke as a result of being assaulted by N and some of her family members. What is in dispute is whether he raped S, who was sleeping with her sister (”O“) in their mother’s room (the main bedroom), sometime between falling asleep and being woken up and assaulted,” Govindjee said.
The girl was taken to Dora Nginza Hospital for medical examination the same day.
The victim testified that she had a “good relationship with Nkewu, who was a very close friend of her mother.”
“The child had fallen asleep in the main bedroom, and had been joined in bed by her sister. She heard a knock on the front door of the home and the voice of the accused. She woke up and saw Nkewu, who entered the other bedroom of the house to converse with her mother. It had been some time since he had visited their home. Nkewu told her mother that he had found work, and requested a place to sleep. He was told to sleep on the couch.
“After some time, Nkewu entered the main bedroom. The complainant was sleeping and it was dark. He told her to climb on top of him. She indicated she did not want to do so,” judgment documents read.
The girl used dolls to demonstrate what had happened and what resulted in her experiencing pain in her urinating organ and in the area of her lower stomach.
The complainant told her sister what happened and the matter was reported to their mother.
Judge Govindjee said the complainant had “carefully considered each statement put to her and her responses were, by and large, clear”.
According to Nkewu, he was woken from his sleep while being assaulted at about 3am and denied having raped the little girl.
In argument, “Nkewu suggested that N had concocted the allegations because she was bitter that their relationship had ended and hated him. He had previously chased her away from his house during 2018, when she would arrive there drunk. He admitted, however, that the relationship had subsequently normalised,” the judgment read.
Nkewu was found guilty on a charge of rape “beyond reasonable doubt”.
Cape Times