The community held a march outside court as a 58-year-old man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl appeared yesterday. Image: EWN.
(The Post News)– The African National Congress (ANC) has announced its plans to cut ties with the party member accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Dobsonville, Soweto.
The alleged rape incident is believed to have happened during the Easter weekend. Tshepo Ntsimane (56), who is also a pastor, appeared at the Roodepoort Magistrates Court yesterday. His bail application was postponed to 22 April pending further investigation. Faith Mazibuko of the ANC Women’s League told eNCA that the party has taken steps to ensure that the suspect is removed from the ANC.
“No one is being sent by the organization to do any wrong things to the community. As the ANC Women’s League, we wish to condemn what happened. What is worse is that a leader of the society, even a church leader and a lease in the very same organization where we say they must defend the vulnerable, especially women and children,” she said.
Mazibuko urged men to stand up and help fight Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in communities. “If men are sitting folding arms, who is going to protect our communities?” she emphasized.
ANC JHB Demands for Public Sex Offenders List
The ANC in Johannesburg is demanding that the list of sex offenders be made public following the suspect’s arrest. ANC Johannesburg Chairperson Loyiso Masuku believes that once the suspect becomes known, their chances of them becoming repeat offenders are slim. “They should not roam around in our communities,” he told the EWN.
Dobsonville community leader Mandla Nyaqela described the suspect as someone who is prominent, highly educated and a trusted man. “He was actually trusted by the community. It was seriously unexpected of him,” he said.
Nyaqela added that the community in the area where the alleged rape incident happened has been without electricity for a while. Meanwhile, the suspect had electricity and wifi. “These children would normally go there for wifi and homework because he had means of electricity in his house. So I guess children were exposed to danger through that,” he added.
The Post News has previously published an article where the Economic Freedom Fighters Youth Command (EFFYC) at the University of the Witwatersrand demanded the suspension of Student Representative Council (SRC) member Musawenkosi Mavuso. This move followed rape and sexual harassment allegations against Mavuso.
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