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9YRS FOR RAPING WOMAN WITH EPILEPSY

11/12/2020 01:28:00 BY JOSEPH ZULU

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PIGG’S PEAK – Had she not bitten the tongue of the man who raped her, *Jane (30), who is an epileptic woman, would have been added to the statistics of many sexually violated women whose cases remain unsolved.

Jane bit Takhe Dlamini’s tongue while he was raping her, such that this became the only clue that led to his conviction.

Due to the bite, Takhe’s blood remained on a t-shirt Jane was wearing. It was this that showed evidence that she did not consent to the sexual act.

Yesterday, Takhe, who had raped Jane near Mbutfo Bar in Buhleni, was sentenced to nine years behind bars without an option of a fine.

Retired Principal Magistrate Joe Gumedze said this was a minimum sentence for the offence. Gumedze noted that though it was risky, biting Takhe’s tongue was what saved Jane.

Saved

“I don’t know how you managed that but it saved you,” said the magistrate.

At some point during the trial, Takhe was referred to as a prince, and that he was also a member of an inner council.

Takhe had pleaded not guilty to the charge since his arrest in 2017. Instead, he said he was in a relationship with Jane.

He argued that Jane’s family and his were at loggerheads such that they used the rape incident to get back at him.

According to a testimony which was given during trial, Takhe is said to have asked Jane to accompany him to his house on the night of the rape.

Both Takhe and Jane were at the popular bar where they were enjoying some drinks.

However, Jane did not agree to Takhe’s request.

After the bar had closed, Takhe is said to have caught up with Jane near a salon situated close to the bar.

He then pulled down her pair of jeans and raped her.

Little did Takhe know that while he was committing the heinous crime, a security guard was nearby and saw some commotion then called his colleagues to assist.

When the other security guards arrived, they found that Takhe had already fled the scene while Jane was lying on the ground alone.

The security guard, who also testified in court, said he noticed that Jane had blood on her t-shirt and that her pair of jeans were pulled down.

Police

“We thought she was dead so we called the police,” said the security guard.

According to Jane, the blood on the T-shirt was from Takhe whom she had bitten on the tongue.

In his testimony, Takhe disputed that he was bitten by Jane. This was despite testimony from one Doctor Chisoni Dziko who examined him.

Dziko, after the medical examination of Takhe, said his injuries were synonymous with someone who had been bitten.

However, Takhe said he got injured when he tried to open a beer bottle using his teeth. He said it was the bottle cap that left the injuries which looked like bite marks.

The doctor also said he took tissue samples from Takhe for DNA analysis. DNA is a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes.

It is the carrier of genetic information and scientists also use it to determine the identity of a person.

The police, however, failed to account for the blood samples which were submitted by Dziko. The tissue collected from Takhe was never transported to a laboratory as per requirement, but instead, was misplaced at the Pigg’s Peak Police Station.

Takhe submitted that it would be unfair to find him guilty since there was no DNA result to prove that the fluids or blood found on Jane belonged to him.

Magistrate Gumedze said the DNA was not necessary to prove the identity of the person who raped Jane.

He said Takhe did not dispute that he was with Jane on the day she said she was raped. Gumedze also said Takhe acknowledged that he knew Jane by claiming that they were in a relationship. This is despite that she disputed his version that they often had sex.

Jane testified that it was her first time engaging in sex with Takhe on the day he raped her.

Gumedze told Takhe that the crown, represented by Mncedisi Dlamini, had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Takhe indeed had committed the crime. Mncedisi submitted that Takhe should be found guilty.

Though Takhe insisted that he was innocent, he pleaded for leniency, saying he was a father to three children who were from different mothers.

Lenient

Gumedze said he would be lenient with Takhe when passing sentence. He backdated the sentence to 2017, which means that Takhe would serve seven of the nine years.

Jane was also present in court during sentencing.

The magistrate also warned Jane against abusing alcohol. He reminded her that since she was epileptic, it was dangerous for her to consume alcohol as this could worsen her condition. “You should stop it,” said Gumedze.

*Pseudonym used to protect the identity of the rape survivor