Port Elizabeth - A lesbian woman stood emotionless in the witness box on Tuesday as she told the Port Elizabeth High Court how her alleged rapist had taken away her pride as a human being.
A 37-year-old man, who stands accused of raping the woman allegedly because “she made herself look like a man”, is facing charges which include rape and kidnapping.
According to the State, Mncedisi Ntengo, who hails from New Brighton township, raped the woman on three occasions during December 2014. Ntengo has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and rape.
Court documents outline how one evening the woman accompanied Ntengo to a tavern to drink beer.
The State alleges Ntengo then instructed the woman to go with him to buy mandrax, but while en route to a dealer, he broke into a shack and forcefully raped her.
Ntengo, who is the woman’s “cousin-brother”, did this allegedly because “she made herself look like a man and because their grandmother wanted to sell their family home”.
On the second occasion, the woman was forced to walk with Ntengo who then allegedly hit her with a beer bottle and pushed her into a school fence at Ben Sinuka Public School. He then forced her into an open classroom where he raped her with a condom.
According to the State, on a separate occasion, Ntengo once again forced her to accompany him to buy and smoke mandrax. The 27-year-old woman passed out as a result and was allegedly raped for the third time. She later managed to escape.
The woman, who cannot be identified, testified on Tuesday that even two years after the alleged incidents, she still felt frightened.
“I did not expect this to be done to me by a family member. I feel incomplete and I am not as proud as I was before,” she told Prosecutor Jason Thysse.
The woman appeared to speak showing no emotion and said that she received counselling on three occasions.
She added that although she could now cope with daily life, she could never find it in herself to forgive Ntengo.
On Monday, during cross examination, Dr Norma Meslane, who had previously examined the woman, testified that it was not possible for the sexual act to have been consensual.
Meslane said that while she did not note any physical injuries on the woman’s body, her clothing was covered in blood and she appeared “very traumatised”.
She said that it was clear by clinical observation there was penetration.
“It could not have been consensual sex, if it was there would have been lubrication,” said Meslane
The trial continues.
African News Agency