Granny (71) test HIV positive after being raped by thugs

by Staff reporter

2012 June 13 08:07:34 | 2324 Views

TWO North West grannies - one of them HIV positive after being raped - live in fear because the two young men who attacked them at gunpoint are still roaming the streets.

The two grannies, aged 80 and 71, are sisters who live alone in an RDP house in a North West rural village. All of their children are dead. The grannies said the attack happened in December 2010 and the culprits were arrested but released a few weeks later.

The grannies said they were never called to court and do not know what happened to their case. They told Sowetan that since the culprits were released they have arrived at the house every month-end and robbed them of their pension money and groceries at gunpoint. Now, every day when the sun sets, they run to the neighbours to sleep there because they are scared the culprits will come and rape them, or worse, kill them.

"I do not enjoy my life. We live in fear because of these boys. They have made me sick, I am on ARV treatment since they raped me. I feel like an animal now. Please wait for a minute, it's time for me to take my pills," the raped gogo said, opening a plastic pouch full of medication. She said she still had flashbacks of the assault.

"They took turns raping me and threatened to kill us if we screamed. The one held a knife and the other put a gun to my temple," she said.

"I told them if they touched me I would bite them. They beat me and made me watch as they raped my sister. They also told me that next time they came it would be my turn to get raped," said the other sister.

They want to see the case reopened and the culprits rearrested. Police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said cases of rape and common robbery were opened during December 2010 in Madikwe.

He said the suspects were arrested in December 2010 for rape and common robbery and have been to court 10 times since their arrest. Ngubane said at present the cases were provisionally withdrawn while waiting for DNA results. He said the allegations made about the harassment and threats were brought to the attention of the investigating officer.

Spokeswoman Captain Adele Myburg said the grannies would still be called to testify. If the allegations of harassment were found to be true the suspects could be rearrested.

Granny HIV positive

Source: sowetan