DELMAS – The Delmas community arrived at the Delmas Magistrate Court on 9 March to oppose the bail application against the accused Solly Themba Nkabinde who allegedly raped and murdered a 15-year-old niece Zinhle Molapo.
Holding up placards written “Bring back the Death penalty! Justice for Zinhle!”, “Enough is Enough. Phansi ngokubulawa kwabantwana”, ‘Malume uyalumana!” They were also chanting liberation songs in the court gallery. Community Activist Dikgetse Slesh Sepenyane said, “We cannot say it is normal to live with murderers and rapists in our community.”
“As long we do not take the justice system into our hands, nothing will ever come alright! … We catch the criminal with evidence. There are people who say ‘do not take the law into your own hands because you are misjudging. How can we misjudge when the criminal is caught with evidence? The police only come to the scene to react with pathologists,” Sepenyane said.
Delmas police said Nkabinde was charged for murder after they took him in for questioning. The body of the deceased was found under a bed by her family at their home on 26 February several days after they realized she went missing from 21 February.
Police said the post-mortem could not be carried successfully to confirm if she was raped before she was murdered.as the body was decomposed. However, the police revealed a previous and similar pending case from 2007 in Gauteng where Nkabinde allegedly raped and stabbed another girl then pushed her under the bed. Police said that the 37-year-old Nkabinde also has a previous warrant of arrest against him back in 2006.
The community was so unhappy of the court’s punctuality during the bail application hearing as it started two hours later. Thabo Motau of SCANCO, who was amongst the community, said to the speaker of Victor Khanye, Khaya Segone, “Somlomo [speaker], your ANC government that we voted for is failing us because we have elderly people amongst us here who have to arrive early in the morning only for the court to open at 10:00, it means the court of your government is ineffective and cannot help them.”
Outside court, a group of women from Botleng expressed their disgust for rapists, “Umntwana ubulawe umalume, inja!” they said. “Umalume angimfuni la a hambe khona [I do not want to see “uncle”. We give birth to these kids and raise them, then they come back to rape and kill us! Us?”
In an official media statement, Mpumalanga provincial Commissioner, General Zuma, said parents have now turned into monsters who seemingly harm children. “I urge the Detectives Team, as well as the Judiciary to ensure that justice is served in this case and should the man be found guilty, he must be locked up for a long time,” General Zuma said.
