Times Of Swaziland: RULING IN INYANGA RAPE CASE TODAY

RULING IN INYANGA RAPE CASE TODAY
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BY JOSEPH ZULU  on 22/09/2020 01:19:00


PIGG’S PEAK – An inyanga who was entrusted by a couple with their
15-year-old daughter to heal her allegedly turned her into a sex slave.
This is the ordeal *Lulu allegedly went through after she suffered from a
condition that caused her to hear a voice which was calling her name. Each time
she heard the voice, she would run outside the house thinking someone was
calling her.
Her parents held the belief that she was demon-possessed and sought assistance
from Nkhosingiphile Dlamini, a known traditional healer around Buhleni. Dlamini
is also a staunch Zionist. Lulu said she was doing Form I at the time but she
had to be away from school because of her ailment.
Verdict
Yesterday, Dlamini appeared before retired Pigg’s Peak Principal Magistrate
Joe Gumedze to hear the verdict in the matter. He faced three counts of
allegedly raping two girls and two of the charges are linked to Lulu.
Gumedze narrated the details of what allegedly happened as testified by
witnesses, including Lulu.
In the testimony of allegations read out by the retired principal magistrate,
trouble for Lulu is said to have started when she developed the condition which
made her hear a loud voice calling her name. Her parents then decided to take
her to Dlamini to heal her. To ensure that she fully recovered, Lulu was left at
Dlamini’s homestead to be treated.
Virgin
This, according to Lulu, happened in 2017 when she was only 14 years old. At the
time she was taken to Dlamini, Lulu claimed she was a virgin, according to
testimony she gave in court.
Lulu had testified that when she began staying at the inyanga’s homestead, he
would allegedly join her in the bedroom in which she slept. She alleged that the
inyanga requested to share the same bed with her and another teenager. At night
while the girls were sleeping, Dlamini would allegedly rub his hands over
Lulu’s breasts and fondle her.
When Lulu asked Dlamini why he was doing this, he is said to have told her that
he was checking her body temperature. She testified that she was uncomfortable
with him doing that.
Lulu said as part of her healing, Dlamini allegedly asked her parents to bring a
black chicken to his home. This chicken was then killed while its blood was
drawn as part of a cleansing ceremony. She claimed that on the following day,
Dlamini asked her to accompany him to the river alongside another girl who
resided at the homestead.
She told the court that on the day that they went to the river, Dlamini
allegedly asked her to undress. Lulu said she was uncomfortable with this
because of his presence as well as that of the other teenage girl. Lulu claimed
he eventually convinced her after assuring her that he would not harm her.
Lulu said when she had undressed, Dlamini allegedly took the blood of the black
chicken he had killed and mixed it with water then asked her to bath in it.
After she had bathed, Lulu claimed the traditional healer cut her hair and asked
her to shave her pubic hair.
She said they then returned home and at this time, she was still under the
impression that Dlamini would heal her.
On another date, Dlamini is said to have taken Lulu to the river where he asked
her to get into the water naked and only cover with a cloth below the waist. He
is alleged to have then joined her and performed a ritual that required him to
hit her shoulders from behind. Dlamini is said to have continued to make sexual
advances but Lulu did not agree to that.
Rubbed
Lulu revealed that on another day, he allegedly called her to his room and asked
her to fetch one of his clothes for him as he lay in his bed. The girl said as
she passed near his bed, he allegedly rubbed his hands around her thighs and
despite her resistance, he is said to have proceeded to rape her. She claimed
this was the first time for her to engage in sexual intercourse with anyone
because she was still a virgin at the time.
Lulu further alleged that Dlamini continued to rape her. He is alleged to have
also raped her while they were at a sports ground at Buhleni inside his vehicle.
After the said rape incidents, Dlamini would allegedly give her money in amounts
of E200, according to Lulu, and told her not to tell anyone. She claimed he did
this when she threatened to tell her father of the ordeal.
Lulu told the court that she had frequently asked Dlamini to let her go home
because she noticed that she was not getting better and that all he was
interested in was to allegedly engage in sexual intercourse with her. She
claimed that in one instance, she told her mother that she no longer wanted to
be at Dlamini’s homestead and lied that she was feeling better but this did
not help as she was ordered to remain at the homestead of the traditional
healer.
She said at one time, she missed her periods and that she started to vomit. Lulu
said it was suspected that she was pregnant but that Dlamini allegedly gave her
medication for enema (kucatseka). He is said to have requested one of the other
girls at his homestead to assist Lulu. Lulu claimed the girl later told her that
the medication she had taken was for abortion. Lulu is said to have asked
Dlamini why he kept having sexual intercourse with her when he had a wife but he
told her that he would marry her. Dlamini is said to have told her that he would
make her his second wife but that he wanted her to first complete secondary
school.
Money
She alleged that he once gave her E4 000 to show how much he loved her but she
turned it down as she did not know what she would do with so much money.  The
retired principal magistrate noted that Dlamini had used money to influence Lulu
into keeping quiet about the abuse. “Money is very powerful and can force
people to succumb,” he said.
However, he said he was convinced that Lulu’s testimony was accurate because
she spoke with conviction and that it was not possible that anyone could have
made her say the things that were untrue.  After speaking for nearly three
hours, the retired principal magistrate said he would not continue with the
matter as he received news that his daughter had been admitted to hospital. He
postponed the pronouncement of the verdict to today. Not real name to protect
minor.