Durban – The matter against a 50-year-old man charged with the alleged rape of his mother-in-law was ready to go to trial.
The man made a brief appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court today, where the case was transferred to the regional court as it is a trial court.
The now former truck loader employed by a company in Westmead and earned R3 000 a month was expected to make his first appearance in the regional court on August 30.
He is alleged by the state to have raped the 58-year-old woman last December in Westmead.
His wife died a few years ago.
The State alleges that the victim was threatened and scratched with a knife, and strangled by the accused.
It further alleges that after learning there had been a criminal case opened against him, he fled to his home in Mzumbe.
The man, who was arrested in February, made his first appearance in court two days after his arrest, where the state expressed that it was opposed to bail as he resided in the same area as his victim.
He was subsequently denied bail by the court and has been in custody since his arrest last month.
Previously, when the accused was applying for bail, the court had heard from the investigating officer how the accused was found with the help of an informer and was apprehended after he had moved around between three different homes in a bid to confuse police on his location and was in hiding between December 27, 2021 and February 2 when he was arrested.
Next Wednesday, the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court is expected to hand down a sentence on a man convicted of the rape of his blind neighbour.
Last year in January, Mokoena was caught in the act by his victims’ sons, who found him topless in their mother’s bed. He offered R1 000 to the sons before managing to flee, leaving behind some of his belongings.
The State’s evidence was that Mokoena left behind a backpack, sandals, and a golf shirt.
The accused, who was a family friend, entered the home and went into the woman’s bedroom. During the trial, the victim had said she recognised the voice of the accused.
Also during the trial, the court heard how the woman’s son, after finishing the washing, walked into the house to hear noises of a struggle. When he entered her room he found Mokoena raping his mother.
Daily News