Everson Luhanga
There could be more charges pressed against the gobela who allegedly raped his twasas in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
The gobela appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Monday on rape charges and was was denied bail. He will appear again on 18 June.
According to the Traditional Healers organisation who picketed outside the court on Monday morning, the accused could face more charges as four cases have been registered with the police and four others have been reported to the organisation.
The traditional healers representative Brenda Dlamini known by her ancestral name, Mamlambo, said their organisation is very disturbed by the serious accusations against their own.
“He is a well-known member of the organisation and we were very unhappy when the accusations came to light.
“We came here to protest and oppose bail because the accusation does not only disturb us as human beings but also our ancestors.
“Our ancestors will deal with such people who drag and abuse the gift given to them to heal and help people.”
Mamlambo said they will be at the court whenever the accused appears. “We will make sure the case is handled with high sensitivity,” she said.
The aunt of one of the victims said her 11-year-old nephew who was also allegedly raped is still traumatised.
She said three of her family members were part of the twasas who were being trained by the gobela until the time of his arrest.
“We were almost done with the training when he was arrested. We were planning the graduation ceremony when police pounced on him,” she said.
She said her sister and nephew are trying to figure out how they will finish the journey of becoming fully qualified sangomas after the drama.
Scrolla.Africa reported on the incident when the gobela was arrested a month ago.
His mother who spoke to the Scrolla.Africa team last month said the accused was previously sentenced to 15 years in jail for raping a girl, a boy and a dog.
