Durban — On Wednesday the 50-year-old man charged with the alleged rape of his mother-in-law appeared before the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where the matter was postponed to next week for a regional court decision.
He is alleged by the State to have raped the 58-year-old woman last December in Westmead.
His wife died a few years ago.
The State alleges that the victim was threatened and scratched with a knife and strangled by the accused.
It further alleges that after learning there had been a criminal case opened against him, he fled to his home in Mzumbe.
The man who was arrested in February made his first appearance in court two days after his arrest where the State said it was opposed to bail as he resided in the same area as his victim.
He was subsequently denied bail and has been in custody since his arrest. Last month he appeared via Audio Visual Remand.
On Wednesday the grey-haired man walked into the dock in court where the State prosecutor Shandu said the matter had been adjourned to Wednesday for a regional court decision. However, there was no decision.
The State is asking for a short remand as the docket had not been sent to the regional court prosecutor.
Legal Aid defence attorney NS Nxele objected to the remand citing that the matter had reached its turnaround time.
The turnaround time afforded to the State to finish investigations is six months.
“The matter has been on the roll since February, it has reached turnaround time,” said Nxele who added that her client was suffering from the delays.
Magistrate Gwendolyn Robinson said she would allow the remand for a regional court decision and marked final for such.
Previously, when the accused was applying for bail, the court heard from the investigating officer how the accused was found with the help of an informer and was apprehended after he had moved around between three homes in a bid to confuse police on his location and was in hiding between December 27, 2021, and February 2 when he was arrested.
At the time, the now former truck loader employed by a company in Westmead and earned R3 000 a month pleaded with the court to grant him bail as he wanted to retain his employment to continue providing for his children.
The court was told that he had two children aged 14 and 22.
Daily News