The harrowing testimony of a 45-year-old woman who, along with her three children, endured a brutal four-hour attack during which she was shot and raped twice left many in a Port Elizabeth courtroom in tears – with one official inconsolable.
The woman, who cannot be named, told the court how she had desperately tried to protect her 12-year-old daughter from being raped after the attacker had already raped her and tried to force her 15-year-old son to rape her too.
“I shouted to him, ‘please not to rape her, she’s too young, she’s only 12 and it’s not possible, please don’t rape her’,” the distraught mother told the Port Elizabeth High Court on Tuesday.
The businesswoman said on March 23 2018, at about 8pm, after making dinner for her children, then aged 15, 12 and nine, she went to her bedroom, from where she heard her eldest son shouting that someone was shooting at them.
“I ran to where my children were. By the time I got there [the lounge area], they were all in the passage,” she said.
“We all ran down the passage. I pushed [my younger son and daughter] into my bedroom, [my eldest son] ran straight into the bathroom and that is when the shot hit me.”
Sebenzile Simane, 32, has been charged with four counts of kidnapping, one of rape, attempted rape and one of compelling a minor to witness a sexual act, among others.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday.
The description of the brutal attack on the family on a farm near Hankey brought tears of anguish to many in the court, leading to a number of adjournments to allow people to compose themselves.
After managing to hide the two children in the bedroom with her, the woman said she had grabbed the safe keys and unlocked it when she heard the attacker at the bedroom door trying to break it down.“[I] could hear he was trying to bash down the door.“I could hear it was going to break so I ran to the door and pushed my body against it.“I was so scared,” the woman said, starting to cry.She said while she was hiding behind a chair in the bedroom, Simane had fired a shot through the sliding door in the bedroom, shattering the glass.“I felt like we were wild animals being hunted,” she said, her voice quivering.“He immediately started pointing the gun at [my youngest son] and said he would shoot him if [my eldest son] did not come back.”Simane then allegedly forced the woman and her two children back to the lounge before her eldest son returned with his hands in the air.“[Simane] said he would wait for their father then kill him and then kill us as well,” the woman said.She said Simane took pieces of wire from his backpack which he used to tie their hands behind their backs.He used other items including the woman’s handbag strap to tie their feet together.“He then said to [my eldest son], ‘You are now going to have sex with your mother’.“[My son] tried to calm me, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.“I begged [Simane] not to.“He then turned to my children and said he was going to rape me and they must watch.”Simane then allegedly pulled the woman to her feet and forced her back to the bedroom where he raped her.Family members, friends and other supporters seated in the public gallery became visibly emotional while the woman recounted her experience.She said Simane then left the bedroom for a while before returning with her daughter.“He made her sit next to me. He removed the ties around her legs and her shorts.“He then touched her and said, ‘oh, this is nice’,” the woman said, before again breaking down in tears.At that point, acting judge Olav Ronaasen again adjourned proceedings.The court stenographer, who had started sobbing, left her post during the adjournment and had to be replaced.After proceedings resumed, the woman said Simane then moved towards her daughter.“[Simane] got as far as a few millimetres ... I started kicking and screaming and begging him not to ... he eventually stopped.“He then pulled [my daughter] into a sitting position ... and said, ‘now you are going to watch how I have sex with your mother’.”After the rape, Simane allegedly ordered them back to the lounge and tied them up again while rummaging through the house.Simane then allegedly demanded that she drive him to town for him to draw money out of her bank account.After withdrawing R4,000, Simane let her go, she said.