A 70-year-old pensioner from KwaMhlanga has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the horrific rape of his nine-year-old great-grandchild,.
A 70-year-old Mpumalanga pensioner has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the KwaMhlanga Regional Court for raping his nine-year-old great-grandchild, an attack that only came to light after the traumatised child watched a television programme about sexual assault.
The incident occurred in August 2020 at KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, where both the perpetrator and the young victim lived. In compliance with South African law which prohibits the identification of minors in sexual offence cases, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has also withheld the pensioner's name to prevent secondary victimisation of the child.
According to NPA Mpumalanga regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, the elderly man had dropped the child off at her paternal grandparents' home on August 10, 2020, while he accompanied his wife to a ceremony in KwaVezubuhle.
Later that evening, the accused returned alone to collect the victim.
