Mthatha – Three men appeared in the Mthatha Magistrate's Court on Monday, for allegedly forcefully marrying a 15-year-old girl to a 26-year-old man, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said.
Spokesperson Captain Anelisa Feni said the men, aged between 26 and 70, were arrested on Saturday by the Serious Organised Crime unit of the Hawks at Ntlazi in the Baziya Administrative Area, Mthatha.
"It is alleged that the 70 and 51-year-old men, who are the maternal grandfathers of the minor, negotiated and deceived the 15-year-old girl into undergoing the tradition of Ukuthwala with the 26-year-old man. The minor was allegedly deceived under the pretence that she was relocating to Ntlaza to live with the 51-year-old in order to study towards her grade 10 at a school there," Feni said.
"After [the] Hawks received information concerning this incident of Ukuthwala, they found the 15-year-old in the home of the 26-year-old man in Ntlazi. The minor was immediately moved to a place of safety in Mthatha."
Feni said that the 26-year-old faces charged of abduction and attempted rape, while the other men face charges of trafficking.
The three were granted bail of R500 each and are expected to appear in court on March 2.