SHOCKING details of how a Uitenhage man took his 5-year-old daughter as his girlfriend following the death of her mother emerged in the Port Elizabeth High Court this w

The little girl was badly injured by the sexual attacks.

As the details unfolded in court of the father’s 10-month-long systematic rape of his little daughter, not even the clinical phrases of the court’s judgment could disguise the horror of what his stepmother told the court — he had treated his child like his lover.

Judge Elna Revelas found the 43-year-old man guilty of the multiple rapes of his daughter.

State advocate Joel Sesar asked the court to sentence him to life imprisonment.

The man has a long list of previous convictions – mostly for housebreaking and theft, but also for assault.

The court heard that after the child’s mother died in November 2009, her father started treating her “like his girlfriend”.

The man’s stepmother, who lived on the same property, first raised the alarm about his abuse of the little girl.

She told the court that after his girlfriend died, the man started treating his daughter like his lover.

He isolated the child and shared a bed with her.

He would rape her while her one-year-old brother slept beside her in the bed.

He also expected her to care for the baby boy.

“He would also chastise her for smiling on the street but not at home, obviously suggesting that she was inappropriately flirtatious,” Judge Revelas said in her judgment.

The man, who was aggressive in court, shouting at the police, told the judge during the trial to “lock up his daughter” and not him as she was the one lying.

“He told the court that he would not rape her as he had created her,” Judge Revelas said.

Despite medical evidence that his child was severally injured during the rapes, he insisted she had not been raped.

He accused his stepmother of fabricating evidence against him, saying she wanted him out of the house.

His stepmother told the court she had a very acrimonious relationship with him and had obtained a protection order against him.

A young friend of the five-year-old girl witnessed one of the rapes in August 2010.

Judge Revelas said the child’s stumbling explanation of what had happened could not be used to criticise her as it would have been excruciatingly difficult for a child to explain the sex act to a court filled with policemen.

The friend had later told the police that the man had threatened to kill her – even before she saw the rape.

Four days after her friend witnessed the rape, the five-year-old victim spoke for the first time about what had happened. She was taken to the police and a social worker.

She was admitted to hospital and treated for the severe injuries she sustained during the rapes.

Judge Revelas said despite this, the child had to be pressured to reveal what her father had done to her.

“Under the circumstances, this did not diminish the value of her report,” the judge said.

She said the social worker had told the court that the child took her hand to show her what exactly had been done to her.

Sowetanlive.co.za

Johannesburg – Expelled ANCYL president Julius Malema should not try to ingratiate himself with Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, the union federation said on Thursday.

“The Congress of SA Trade Unions dismisses with contempt the attempt by … Malema to ingratiate himself with the leadership of Cosatu by praising… Vavi,” spokesperson Patrick Craven said.

In an interview with the Mail & Guardian earlier this week, Malema said: “I have nothing against Vavi and will always support and defend him as a brother and comrade… We speak one language with him. He is the only revolutionary remaining in Cosatu.”

Craven rejected this statement.

“This is not only totally untrue, but is also a blatant attempt to create divisions within the revolutionary trade union federation and thus weaken the workers’ shield and protector,” he said.

Malema was responding to Vavi’s criticism of him.

The M&G quoted Vavi as saying: “Suddenly politicians, far removed from the reality workers face… are positioning themselves opportunistically as the champions of the RDOs [rock drill operators].

“Their latest recruit is former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, a wealthy, essentially right-wing leader, who demagogically (sic) exploits any perceived weakness to encourage workers to leave their union, their only means of defence.”

Malema has taken on the cause of protesting workers at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine, in North West, who have been on strike for the past three weeks, demanding a monthly salary of R12,500.

On 16 August, police fired on a group of protesting workers, killing 34 and wounding 78. Another 10 people were killed earlier that week, including two policemen and two security guards.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Dozens of people were displaced, cars were swept away and train services disrupted as stormy weather battered large parts of the country on Thursday.

In Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal, at least 50 people were left homeless when their shacks were destroyed in landslides.

“They are being housed at a nearby community hall and have been supplied with blankets and food parcels,” municipal spokeperson Thabo Mofokeng said in a statement.

Emergency and disaster officials remained on stand-by in areas where residents had been warned of possible floods as torrential rainfall was expected to continue on Friday.

In Johannesburg three vehicles were swept off a bridge on Nancefield Road in Soweto, near the Maponya Hostel. 

Emergency services spokesperson Synock Matobako said no one was injured.

“Residents rushed to the scene and helped out all occupants of the three vehicles,” spokesman Synock Matobako said.

Metrorail services in Gauteng were disrupted, causing major delays.

“Lightning hit a substation at Pinedene station [in Centurion] which has rendered both lines without overhead power,” Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng.

The outage affected all trains on the Pretoria line to Johannesburg and back.

In Tshwane, the electricity department expressed concern over the city’s high power consumption. The city urged residents to turn off non-essential items during the cold weather.

Motorists across the country were also warned to be careful on the wet and slippery roads.

In Gauteng, thunderstorms and heavy rains on Wednesday night caused flooding in Cleveland, Parktown, on the M1 highway at Smit Street, at Klipspruit Valley Road and New Canada Road in Soweto, Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said.

SAPA

LONDON – South African swimmer Natalie Du Toit on Thursday won her third gold medal at the 2012 Paralympics.

She finished first in the Women’s 200m IM S9 in a time of 2:34:22.

This brings Team South Africa’s gold medal count to five, with the overall medals won at 18.

On Tuesday, du Toit won the Women’s 400 metre Freestyle S9 final and last week, she snatched gold in the Women’s 100 metre Butterfly S9 final.

Du Toit is participating in seven events in London, making this her busiest Olympics to date.

The swimmer is expected to retire after these games.

ewn.co.za

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By Obakeng Maje

vryburg- Two suspects will appear tomorrow at Taung Magistrate Court after being arrested for stock theft.

According to information received, the two suspects aged between 24 and 26 were bust by police after a tip-off from a member of a community.

 This incident took place at Letlhapong village near Taung.

It is alleged that two men went on to steal five cattle and three calves in Vultuin.

“They had a potential buyer from Christiana and the buyer arrived on the agreed spot while the police were busy interogating two suspects” Captain Makau said.

The two were arrested and charged for stock theft after the buyer admit that he was indeed here to cattle from suspects.

The police confirm that there are no relations between the suspects and the buyer,so he was not arrested.

The two will appear tomorrow in court.

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JOHANNESBURG – Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital management on Wednesday said reports of a huge patient backlog are true, but those numbers will drop substantially in the next few months.

The hospital’s surgery backlog was highlighted on Wednesday after Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo revealed that almost four thousand patients are part of the surgery backlog.

Hospital CEO Johanna More said the only real backlog is the urology department which still has to treat 2,000 patients.

“I can tell you that between January and July 2012, we’ve already covered 19,620 operating cases.”

The province’s hospital has made news in recent months for broken equipment, non-payment to service providers and shortages of medication.

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Bloemfontein – Residents of Welkom have been shocked by a cellphone video showing a 14-year-old girl having sex with a 20-year-old man.

The girl’s 12-year-old friend was apparently told by the man to make the video, reported Volksblad.

The children had been drinking alcohol with the accused at his flat after which they lay down on a bed because they felt ill. 

The man then came in and said he wanted to kiss and cuddle with the victim. The younger girl was told to record his actions.

The man was arrested after the younger girl showed the video to friends at school and the principal called the police.

Neither the girl nor her friend were apparently able to remember the events of the night before.

The prosecutor in the case said the principal had acted correctly by calling the police.

The girls unwittingly also committed an offence in making and distributing the video but would probably only be told to undergo therapy and behavioural programmes.

The man was arrested.

News24

Church leaders, led by Central Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn, have intervened to avoid a clash between thousands of protesters and police at Lonmin in Marikana in North-West. The protesters are marching to Shaft 3 West of Marikana to ask management to close the Shaft.

An agreement to allow four delegates from rock drillers and four police officials have been allowed inside the Shaft to request management to heed their request. No violence has been reported thus far.

Earlier reports said another bloody clash between miners and police at Lonmin’s Kareespruit was imminent. The reports were triggered after striking rock drill operators ignored orders to disperse. The number of strikers carrying spears and axes was said to have increased from 1 000 to 2 000.

As police kept a watchful eye on the protesters, four Nyala vehicles as well as a water tanker were on stand-by. Peace negotiations aimed at ending violence in the mining area are expected to have resumed at Sun City.