Times Of Swaziland: COUNTS ALTERED FOR RAPE ACCUSED LAWYER

COUNTS ALTERED FOR RAPE ACCUSED LAWYER
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Timothy Simelane and Kwanele Dlamini on 24/09/2022 08:02:00


MBABANE – The Manzini lawyer, *Sam, accused of raping and impregnating his
daughters successfully challenged one of the charges when he appeared at the
Manzini Magistrates Court yesterday.
This is despite that the said charges had not even been read to him when he
appeared for the first time since his arrest on Thursday. The lawyer said he
would represent himself in the case. After he had been informed that he would be
remanded in custody he immediately showed interest to address the court, which
was presided over by Senior Magistrate Nonhlanhla Dlamini. He said one of the
charges should not have been in the charge sheet because he was already out on
bail for the same alleged offence. He said it would create confusion in his bail
application because he was already out on bail for such an charge. The charge in
question is one in which he allegedly raped his 14-year-old cousin and
impregnated her in the year 2007 to 2008 at or near Fairview area in the Manzini
Region. A child was born as a result of the alleged rape.
Bail
“Among these charges I am facing is a matter which is pending before this
court. It has been listed as Count 2, yet I was granted bail in 2008 at the High
Court. I paid E5 000 and was released. It was before Magistrate Israel Magagula.
I should not have been arrested on account of such a matter because I have never
violated my bail conditions despite that it occurred a long time ago,” he
said. He said he had known about the case three months ago when it started
appearing in the newspapers and on social media. “This case has been on social
media and newspapers since three months ago. I have kept my peace to ensure
justice eventually unfolds. All along I have been cooperating with the law
enforcement officers, even as they came to my home a number of times, and I
cooperated.
“It is also common knowledge that I am an officer of the court and some of the
rules do not even need to be related to me. I will abide by the bail conditions
as pronounced by the High Court,” he said. He even advised the court to stand
down the matter to allow the prosecution to make consultations on the way
forward. Prosecutor Cebile Nkambule then asked that the matter be stood down
temporarily and the magistrate granted the request. Upon her return to the
court, 15 minutes later, the prosecutor asked that Count 2 be removed from the
charge sheet and the request was granted.
Minors
The implication is that instead of facing five counts as had been drafted, the
lawyer will now face four counts, all bordering on having sexual relations with
minors. The first count is rape of his 12-year-old daughter between 2006 and
2011. According to the charge sheet, it carried aggravating circumstances in
that the accused is in loco parentis with the complainant as he is the
biological father of the complainant and thus he allegedly abused the
relationship of trust. Prior to the sexual abuse, the complainant was sexually
inactive and the accused allegedly impregnated the complainant as a result of
the rape. It was further revealed in the charge sheet that the accused allegedly
exposed the complainant to the risk of infections and  HIV/AIDS as he did not
use a condom.
The third count was one in which the accused allegedly raped his 14-year-old
daughter between 2006 and 2011 and impregnated her. The same aggravating
circumstances as stated in count 1 also apply. In count 4, the lawyer is alleged
to have had sexual acts with one of his daughters aged 16 in contravention of
section 3 (2)(c),3(6)(e) as read with Section 3(9)(b) of the Sexual Offences and
Domestic Violence Act 15/2018. In this charge, he is further alleged to have
impregnated the daughter and forced to abort the pregnancy.
In count 5, the lawyer was charged with the offence of contravening section
37(1) as read with section 37(5) of The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence
Act 15/2018. He is alleged to have, in the year 2019 to 2020 at or near Nkambeni
area in the Manzini region, unlawfully maintained a sexual relationship with his
16-year-old daughter.  The charges also carry a warning that should the lawyer
be convicted of the offences his particulars will be included in the National
Register of Sexual Offenders.
*Not real name to protect minors.