The #NotInMyName movement has strongly commended the recent life imprisonment sentence handed down to a father convicted of raping his son.
The movement said it felt that if there was a heavier sentence, it should have been granted, and this man should never see the light of day for betraying the trust of a young soul.
The Peddie Regional Court in the Eastern Cape sentenced a father, 54, to life imprisonment for raping his eight-year-old son, with additional five years for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was residing with his son at Mgababa village in the district of Peddie. On the afternoon of May 31, 2023, the victim was coming back from school.
The father instructed him to go fetch woods nearby, and when the victim came back, the father chained him to a pole that was inside his house and raped him. After raping the victim, the man locked the house and the young boy inside.
The boy managed to untie himself and ran to his neighbour’s house. The neighbour alerted community members and police were called.
The perpetrator was arrested the following day while hiding at his relative’s house in Motherwell, Gqeberha.
During the trial, prosecutor Thobani Matyeni led the evidence of three witnesses including the minor victim, who testified in camera with the assistance of a court intermediary.
A doctor’s report, which corroborated what was said by the victim and further indicated the injuries the victim sustained during the assault, was submitted to the court. Despite his denials, the accused was found guilty.
Victim impact statement (VIS) from the minor and secondary VIS from the mother, facilitated by Court Preparation Officers (CPOs), Asikelele Mtshabe and Busisiwe Matyalana, were presented for sentencing. In the VIS, the victim expressly stated that he did not want to see his father again.
Delivering the sentence, Magistrate James Fritz agreed with the prosecutor’s submission that the most aggravating factors were that the convicted rapist-father chained his son like an animal and further raped him, betraying the trust the young soul had in him as a parent.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, and that the offender’s name be entered in the National Register for Sex Offenders. Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, welcomed the sentence and commended the investigator, prosecutor, court intermediary and CPOs for ensuring that justice is served for the most vulnerable of our society.
“The child suffered the worst abuse at the hands of the person who was supposed to protect him, and our courts must ensure that people such as this monster of a father are removed from the communities,” said Madolo.
#NotInMyName secretary-general Themba Masango said this was deplorable for a father who could do this to his child.
“We welcome the sentence. The way he treated his son, chaining him like an animal, raping him, betraying the trust of a young soul. This boy is going to take years to recover if that is even possible to recover mentally, spiritually and physically. May he rot in jail,” said Masango.
The Star