GIYANI – A resident of Shawela Village, Nelson Khazamula Ngobeni (33), will spend the next 15 years behind the bars after he was convicted of rape. The case was finalised in the Giyani Regional Court last Friday.

The case follows an incident that took place at the Shawela Village near Giyani on February 5, 2002.

The court heard that it was at about 17:00 when the accused got into the victim's home. The victim, a four-year-old toddler, was playing alone inside the yard. Ngobeni started to play with the young girl inside the yard.

He later took the girl to an abandoned house which is situated somewhere within the yard. That is where he brutally raped the young girl. He then ordered the toddler not to tell the story to anyone. The girl's mother later discovered that her daughter had been raped while she was dressing her.

The mother cross-questioned the girl but she remained silent. She later told the mother that a certain man had raped her during her absence. She told the mother that she did not know the culprit. That prompted the mother to enquire from her neighbours about her daughter's moves during that afternoon.

The neighbours told the mother that they last saw her daughter while she was in the company of Ngobeni, playing inside the yard. The matter was then reported to the police and Ngobeni was arrested two days after the incident.

The case was postponed several times in both the Giyani Magistrate's and Regional Court, until it was concluded last Friday.