A 33-year-old man pretending to be a traditional healer was sentenced to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping a teenage girl.
The man, who had befriended the girl’s mother and convinced her that he can help her sick daughter, was sentenced by the Madadeni regional court in KwaZulu-Natal this week.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, spokesperson for National Prosecuting Authority, said the man visited the woman and her daughter frequently and noticed that the teen often got admitted to the hospital.
“He suggested to the mother that he can heal the girl with his traditional medicine, [convincing her that] the girl did not need to go to the hospital. Her mother agreed to the proposal,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
“On the afternoon of the incident, he fetched the girl from her home and told the mother that he was taking the girl to the river for a cleansing ritual, which would be followed by a prayer meeting with other congregants.
“The girl went with him. However, he took her to his house under the guise of waiting for other congregants to arrive.”
Ramkisson-Kara added that the fake healer then forcefully undressed the teenager and raped her twice, only releasing her in the early hours of the next morning.
The girl informed her sister and mother, and the matter was reported to the police who arrested the culprit shortly after.
She was taken to the Madadeni Thuthuzela care centre where she received medical and psychosocial assistance.
State prosecutor Scelo Hleka led the testimonies of the girl, her mother, her sister, and the medical doctor.
A victim impact statement showed that the incident left the teenager traumatised, embarrassed and having to deal with psychological scars.
The girl said in the statement that she had been a virgin at the time she was violated.
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