A traditional healer accused of raping 16-year-old twins has allegedly offered the girls' mother R250,000 to silence her.

According to the mother of the twins, the traditional healer, who is in his 40s, allegedly raped one girl on August 11, the day before their 16th birthday, and the other later in August and on September 28.

The girls only discovered when they were taken to a social worker that both of them had been raped by the same man.

The mother found out about the rapes from the girls' friend.

The girl had told her friend that she was bleeding after "the man slept with her".

The mother said when she confronted the man he denied having raped the girls, but admitted that he had sex with them.

"He told me that he actually wants to marry one of my twins," she said.

The mother opened two cases of rape on October 9 with the North West police.

The distraught mother also went to the state's social workers and doctors to examine her children.

The mother of four said that when the traditional healer heard that she had laid charges of rape against him, he allegedly visited her to "explain why he slept with the girls".

"At first the man's mother, accompanied by one of his friends, begged me to withdraw the charges and said the traditional healer would marry one of the twins and help us financially," she said.

The twins' mother also said the man's mother also offered to pay her R250,000 for her to keep quiet.

She said: "I refused the money. What he did to my children was wrong".

North West police spokesman Captain Sam Tselanyane confirmed that two cases against the traditional healer were opened.

"The reason why the suspect was not arrested was that we needed to obtain statements from all parties involved," Tselanyane said.

Sowetan called the traditional healer. He admitted that he knew the girls, but asked the newspaper to call later because he was consulting with his patients.

• This article was first published in the printed newspaper on 6 November 2012