An ANC official was arrested for allegedly raping a schoolgirl.
- An ANC secretary in a northern Johannesburg neighborhood allegedly raped a school girl on October 14.
- Speaking to News24, a father described how he only found out about the incident when she confided in him about her birthday a month after the ordeal.
- He says that before that, he had missed the red flags: his mood swings and the need to change schools.
The father of a girl allegedly raped by a Gauteng ANC district official shared his anger that he had failed to see “warning signs” that his 16-year-old daughter had been attacked.
A 34-year-old African National Congress secretary from a district north of Johannesburg is facing rape charges after he allegedly raped the schoolgirl on October 14 and gave her R100 to buy her silence.
The alleged rapist appeared before the Randburg Magistrate Court on Monday.
The victim’s father, whose name cannot be identified to protect his daughter’s identity, could not bear to see the defendant and remained outside the courtroom until the proceedings were concluded.
The father told News24 he was shocked and disappointed to learn that a man he trusted, a prominent figure in the community, had allegedly taken advantage of his daughter.
“I had a lot of respect for him. He was like a friend. He always came to my house and now he has made a fool of me. My wife now thinks I have sent my friends to come and do this to our daughter.” said the father.
READ | Gauteng ANC district secretary accused of raping a teenage girl and then offering her R100 to keep quiet
The father said he only found out about the incident when his daughter confided in him on her birthday, a month after the ordeal.
“He told me this while we were in town looking for a gift for her. He said if I don’t believe him, I should ask his teachers. When I went to school, they confirmed it.”
He said the teachers detected signs that the girl may have been in distress, and after their investigation, the girl confided that she had been raped.
He said the school hadn’t told the parents, which angered him. He was also angry that he had not seen the “warning signs” that something terrible had happened to his daughter.
The father said:
The only time she told me I don’t love her because I don’t protect her. I tried asking her what she meant by that, but she just brushed it off. Now that I know the truth, it all starts to make sense. The anger, the desire for her to change schools… It all makes sense.
She said she asked her daughter several times why she never told her what had happened, her response was: “I was afraid you would fight him because you know him.”
When the alleged perpetrator was arrested on December 2, the father said he went to the police station and pleaded with officers to speak to him.
“I wanted to know why he did it, but he denied doing anything to my daughter… I got so angry that the police threw me out of the police station,” the father said.
In the meantime, the matter has been adjourned to December 12 for further investigation and a formal request for bail.
