INYANGA GUILTY OF RAPING 2 MINORS

 PIGG’S PEAK – Guilty!

This is the ruling retired Pigg’s Peak Principal Magistrate Joe Gumedze delivered  in a rape trial in which a traditional healer Nkhosingiphile Dlamini, raped his patient, aged 15 as well as his niece who was also 16 years old.

Dlamini was found guilty after the Crown represented by Dolly DaSilva paraded witnesses who included the two survivors as well as the mother to the 15-year-old girl *Lulu.

In passing the verdict, the retired principal magistrate stated that he had no reason to doubt the credibility of the witnesses. He said their testimonies did not contradict but instead, corroborated each other. 

Gumedze said it was very clear that the girls were not coached by someone to give the testimonies they gave. 

Yesterday, Gumedze narrated how Dlamini used material things to influence Lulu not to report the matter. 

Dlamini had promised Lulu a laptop, a cellphone and E4 000 so that she would keep quiet about the rape. 

Lulu had told the court that Dlamini also paid her an amount of E200 for her silence after raping her. She said one day, her mother enquired where she got the money from. “I told her that he (Dlamini) paid me for washing his clothes,” she said. 

Lulu also told the court that she started staying at the traditional healer’s homestead after she suffered from a condition which made her hear voices. 

Slave

Her uncle is said to have recommended that she be taken to the traditional healer. Lulu, however, said she ended up turned into a sex slave as Dlamini would engage in sexual intercourse with her whenever he wanted.  Her parents then began to question why instead of getting better, she was getting worse. At some point, Lulu told the traditional healer that she would report the rape to her father.

It was then that Dlamini promised to give her E4 000 cash and even promised to marry her. Lulu is then said to have asked him what she would do with such an amount of money. 

Lulu was later taken to a pastor for prayer where she spent at least three months and gained the courage to report the matter. 

Lulu’s mother is then said to have approached her daughter and enquired about her stay at the traditional healer’s home. She is said to have wept when her mother asked her questions. 

She eventually narrated the sex ordeals that she went through while being treated.  It was then that the matter was reported to the police at Buhleni, who investigated it and arrested Dlamini.

Dlamini’s niece *Thoko also narrated how she ended up being raped on several occasions by her uncle. 

Dlamini first recruited Thoko as his apprentice and assistant in his duties as a traditional healer. Thoko’s duties were to write prescriptions and do other chores such as boiling water for kufutsa (steaming).

*Not real name to protect survivor.

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