Durban — A 106-year-old northern KwaZulu-Natal woman who died two weeks ago had overcome the trauma of her rape ordeal three years ago.
In October 2019, Nomalanga Mlambo was allegedly raped in her KwaMhlabuyalingana home.
She lived alone at the time but through the intervention from Department of Social Development workers she was relocated to live with her family nearby.
A 24-year-old man known to her family was the alleged perpetrator. The rape accused attended her funeral service.
According to her niece, Bessa Mabika, Mlambo died peacefully in her sleep.
“She had told social workers who interviewed her after the rape that she wanted to go and live with her brother’s children because she no longer felt safe where she lived.
“There was no indication anything was wrong prior to her death in terms of her health. We had been living and all getting along well. God must have decided it was her time,” Mabika said.
According to Mabika, Mlambo had overcome the trauma of the rape, adding that when she first arrived to live with them she seldom went outside, and would get terrified every time a door would open.
“She used to wake up in the middle of the night scared and the fact that it was dark added to that so we would sleep with the lights on.
“She was always on edge and scared. She was not that person anymore, we would sit with her outside in the yard during the day. She seemed like she had put the incident out of her mind; she was much better,” Mabika said.
The family knew little as to what became of the criminal case except that following the incident the man alleged to have raped Mlambo was arrested and appeared in the Manguzi Magistrate’s Court back in 2019.
Mabika said the man alleged to have raped Mlambo was known to her and the community. She said she had never seen him until the day of her aunt’s funeral.
“He is back in the community, back where he lived. On the day we were burying my aunt the man walked past and that was when others showed me saying, ‘there he is’.”
Mabika said she was saddened to hear that another elderly woman had gone through a similar ordeal two weeks ago. She was referring to an incident where Sophie Mbhele, 84, succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital in Manguzi after allegedly being raped by a 21-year-old who fell asleep in her Newtonville home.
He was allegedly caught by neighbours naked in Mbhele’s bed and was alleged to have forcefully gained entry into Mbhele’s house.
He was arrested by the police.
Daily News