MATAT : LEARNER, 12, RAPED ON HER WAY TO SCHOOL, ADULT FEMALE RAPED AND STRANGLED.
A 12 year old learner from Matatiele who walks a distance of plus minus four kilometres to school is alleged to have been raped on Monday morning.
MATATIELE: Residents of Mkhemane Village in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape are still reeling with shock after a 12 year old learner is alleged to have been raped this morning while an adult female was murdered and thrown in the nearest river after being raped on Saturday.
According to reports the 12 year old grade 6 learner was on her way to school when she met the suspect who dragged her to the nearest forest and raped her. She came out of the forest crying and was seen by a passer-by. The passer- by helped the learner to go back to the forest to pick up her books and school jersey which she left after being raped by the suspect. The matter has been reported to the Lukholweni police station.
The learner’s grand mother, Nolusapho Mthandeki lambasted the Department of Education for failing to provide scholar transport to learners after closing the nearest school and placing learners at a schools far away from their homes. “Since their school was closed these kids are forced to walk a distance of more or less 5 kilometres to school. Attempts to be provided with scholar transport by the department failed. I am now paying for a transport to take her to school but this month I could not manage to pay that is why she had to walk to school. If the Scholar transport was provided my grandchild could not have been raped”, said Mthandeki.
Meanwhile a 30 year old female body was found near the river after disappearing from her boyfriend ‘s house last Saturday. It is reported that the boyfriend reported to the community after discovering that her girlfriend was not in the house after leaving her cooking in the house to buy some beers. The community went out to search the where about of the girlfriend. Her half naked body was found next to a nearby river in the village. According to the community it looks like she was raped before being strangled to death.
Police at Lukholweni have confirmed these incidents saying that they are under investigation. Two men have then handed themselves to the police station after their names were mentioned by the community as suspects.
