Durban - Police have arrested a pensioner for allegedly raping his granddaughter who is now said to be pregnant with his child.
The 78-year-old man is alleged to have been raping the teenage girl since she was 14 years old.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said that the old man was arrested on Monday by the Inanda Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for rape and that he will appear before the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
“It is alleged that the suspect from Newtown A in Inanda Newtown, is a foster parent to a girl and they have been living together since her mother passed away. She alleges that her grandfather started raping her from January 1, 2017 until May 31, 2022. The matter was reported to Inanda SAPS yesterday (Monday) and was assigned to the Inanda FCS for further investigation. Police officers immediately arrested the suspect,” said Ngcobo.
She said that following the old man’s arrest, police in KwaZulu-Natal were appealing to communities to be more vigilant and report such atrocities immediately.
“Young children should be protected from these despicable predators that live in our communities. Community leaders and community organisations are requested to visit vulnerable children to ensure that those who are tasked to protect them, do not abuse them,” Ngcobo said.
KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza said that she had dispatched a team of social workers to provide psycho-social support to the family and teenager.
“The social workers will also remove the pregnant teenager to a shelter.”
She said that the man who was arrested is the grandfather who allegedly attempted to pin the pregnancy on someone else.
“It is disgusting that people who are supposed to protect children in our communities are the ones who abuse them. We hope that police will get to the bottom of this whole thing and we believe that a number of children may have fallen victim to his nefarious activities," Khoza said.
Daily News