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NURSE RAPED ME MORE THAN ONCE AT RFM – PATIENT

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MANZINI – The former RFM Hospital nurse, who is accused of sexually violating a patient, is alleged to have had sexual intercourse with her at least twice.

This is according to the 25-year-old woman, who is the complainant in the matter. The complainant was delivering evidence as the first witness in the matter, where Timothy Vilakati (53) of KaNdinda is facing a charge of contravening Section 3 (1), 3(2), 4(a) as read with Section 3(9) (c) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018. According to the charge sheet, the accused person allegedly committed the offence on May 13, 2022 at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital’s Emergency Room by (allegedly) having sexual intercourse with the 25-year-old without her consent.

Infected

The charge sheet said this rape was accompanied by aggravating circumstances as envisaged by Section 185 bis of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act No. 67/1938 in that the accused person exposed the survivor to danger of being infected with sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS by not using protection. Again, the charge sheet said the accused person allegedly inflicted physical and mental trauma by having sexual intercourse with the complainant. The case proceeded yesterday before Acting Manzini Principal Magistrate, Sindisile Zwane, and the complainant was called to the witness box by the Crown as the first witness in the matter. She told the court that she knew the accused person as a nurse as she had seen him in the hospital (RFM), but she mentioned that she did not know him before then. She submitted that on the day of the alleged incident, she was rushed by her husband to hospital.

Thereafter, the witness informed the court that she woke up at RFM Hospital and found the accused person next to her bed, holding her intravenous (IV) infusion, known as a drip, at around 1pm. She alleged that the accused person called her by name and she responded. After that, she claimed that the nurse asked her about her husband and she told him that he was at home. She alleged that the nurse then went out for about five minutes and she was still lying on her hospital bed, with the drip in her. The witness told the court that when the accused person returned, he held her drip and allegedly climbed on the bed and raped her. “He told me that he was putting a catheter and I tried to push him away, but he did not move,” the witness submitted.

After that, she informed the court that the accused allegedly pulled her closer to him while he knelt on the bed. She alleged that he also told her that he was putting the catheter because she had allegedly urinated on the bed. She added that the accused allegedly continued with the sexual intercourse, but later on, he stopped. She gave clarity to the court that at first, she believed that the accused person was inserting a catheter, but she allegedly realised that he was allegedly having sexual intercourse with her, thus she tried to push him away.

Mumbling

“I tried to stop him, but I was weak and when I tried to speak, I was mumbling,” she submitted. The witness alleged that after checking the drip, the accused person went out for about five minutes and in the meantime, she continued to sleep on the bed.  “When he returned, he continued with the sexual intercourse,” the witness informed the court. Again, she told the court that she tried to push him away, but he was stiff. However, she alleged that while continuing with the sexual intercourse, the accused person was allegedly disturbed by footsteps and he quickly jumped off the bed, dressed up, opened the curtain and checked the drip before he want out.

The witness emphasised that even on the second time, she tried to push away the accused person from her, but failed and could not speak, as she mumbled. Thereafter, she informed the court that when the accused person returned, he was carrying an injection. “He then (indecently assaulted me) and (made lewd sexual comments),” the witness submitted. After that, she alleged that the witness called her by her name and when she responded, he then injected her drip and she fell asleep. She submitted that when she woke up later on, she was feeling dizzy and she went to the bathroom.

Accused denies knowing complainant

MANZINI – The accused person denies knowing the complainant. Timothy Vilakati, who stands accused of raping a patient at RFM Hospital, where he was employed as a nurse, said this when he was cross-examining the complainant after he had delivered evidence as the first witness in the matter. Vilakati told the court that he did not recall the witness. In fact, he submitted that he did not know her.

However, the witness informed the court that she knew the accused person from the hospital (RFM) and remembered what he allegedly did to her. She added that he was wearing a brown pair of trousers and a blue shirt on the day. Thereafter, the accused person asked the witness how come other people did not hear her as the ward was not a small room, but it had about eight beds and it did not happen that a patient could be alone. In response, the witness submitted that the ward was big, but the difference was that each bed had a curtain that covered it (for privacy). She added that the accused person allegedly pulled the curtain when he allegedly got onto the bed.

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