Rape of minor girls is reaching alarming proportions in the Vhembe District. In one of the most bizarre incidents of rape, a 40-year-old man is allegedly on the run for the alleged rape of his 15-year-old daughter.
Tshivhulana community leader Ms Mpho Mathode said the girl, who lives at Tshino outside Vuwani, was allegedly subjected to rape by her father on numerous occasions. "She could no longer withstand the situation, and she fled to our village, where she has relatives. She narrated her ordeal to friends and it reached my ears. I called for her and she narrated everything to me. Her story is a sad one and I could not keep it to myself," she said.
The matter was reported to the Vuwani police. "They came and took her away and a case was opened," she said. Mathode expressed extreme sadness, saying the girl was all by herself.
"This is a sad state of affairs where girls who are left with their fathers end up being victims of rape by their own fathers. This is becoming very prevalent in many parts of our society. We once dealt with a similar case where a man molested his two daughters at Tshimbupfe. We intervened and reported the case and he was arrested. We are appealing to women out there to do all we can to protect our girls," Mathode said.
W/O Vuledzani Dathi of the Vhembe SAPS confirmed that they were investigating a rape case after the incident.
"The case was opened on Friday, 5 September, at around 11:00. It is alleged that the girl was fetching water from a local tap, when her father told her to go home, using a certain route," Dathi said. "It is alleged that the man followed her and when he caught up with her, instructed her to strip, but she refused. It was at that stage that he forced her into the bush and allegedly raped her."
Dathi said that after the ordeal, the father was alleged to have instructed the girl not to tell anyone, threatening to kill her. "The suspect is in his early 40s and the police are busy tracking him down. We are appealing for any information that may assist them in the investigations to be directed to Const Colbert Ratshili on 082-227-9049," he said.